Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi has been suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly till the Budget Session following his controversial remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. The suspension proposal was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Dada Patil, citing the Azmi's remarks as inappropriate and unbecoming of a legislator.
This comes a day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that they have put forth their demand to suspend the Azmi from the House. "We have condemned his statement. His statement will cost him, and the people of Maharashtra will not forgive him... He will be suspended; we have put forth our demand to suspend him (from the House)," CM Shinde had told reporters.
During his recent interaction with the media in the Marine Drive area, Azmi stated that "Aurangzeb was a good administrator". However, on Tuesday, Azmi said that his words had been twisted and that he was ready to take back his statement and apologise if sentiments were hurt. "My words have been twisted. I have said what historians and writers have claimed about Aurangzeb Rahmatullah Ali," Azmi said.
"I have not made any derogatory comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any other great men - but still if anyone has been hurt by my statement, then I take back my words, my statement," Azmi said in a video on his X. The Samajwadi Party MLA also said that the issue was being politicised. "The issue is being made a political issue, and I think that closing the budget session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly because of this is causing harm to the people of Maharashtra," Azmi said.
Earlier, a zero FIR was also registered against Azmi in the Naupada Police Station of Thane and was transferred to the Marine Drive police station in Mumbai in connection with his remarks on Aurangzeb. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint lodged by Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske. Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA IN Maharashtra latched on to Azmi's remarks and questioned I.N.D.I.A bloc members as to why they were trying to glorify Aurangzeb.
Navneet Rana reacts to Aurangzeb's suspension
Meanwhile, former Amravati MP Navneet Rana has welcomed the suspension of Azmi from the Maharashtra Assembly, stating that strong action must be taken against those glorifying Aurangzeb. In a sharp statement, Rana urged the Maharashtra government to go beyond Azmi’s suspension and remove Aurangzeb’s tomb from Sambhajinagar. She asserted, "Just as Abu Azmi has been suspended, the government should also uproot Aurangzeb’s grave from Maharashtra. Those who speak in his favour and call him their father must learn a lesson -- this land follows the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, not Aurangzeb."
(With inputs from agencies)
ALSO READ: Maharashtra: SP leader Abu Azmi faces legal trouble for praising Aurangzeb, multiple cases filed