Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 5: Disregarding his apology and clarification on his statement on Aurangzeb, which has sparked a massive political uproar, the Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi was on Wednesday unanimously suspended from the Maharashtra state Assembly till the remainder of the current budget session.
But instead of dying down, the issue further snowballed into a massive slugfest with the ruling Mahayuti insisting that Mr Azmi’s praising Aurangzeb was an insult of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath joining the issue.
The Maharashtra Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil argued that Azmi’s statements were objectionable and had hurt the dignity of the Assembly. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT faction) chief Uddhav Thackeray and others backed the suspension decision.
Fadnavis said, “Any disrespect towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not be tolerated! Question to the opposition… Will you condemn what is written about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s book ‘The Discovery of India’?”
Thackeray demanded that Azmi should be permanently suspended from the assembly. He said, “He should be permanently suspended. It should not just be for the Budget Session, the suspension should be permanent.”
Thackeray further reacted on Akhilesh Yadav’s defence saying, “Let him object if he wants to. The entire Maharashtra has raised an objection against him. If he wants, he should make him contest from there (UP). He does not know the truth.”
Weighing into the controversy, Yogi Adityanath lashed out at Azmi and challenged Akhilesh Yadav to expel Azmi over his remark and said, “Make an official announcement and expel that wretched person from your party. Then send him to Uttar Pradesh and we will take care of the rest.” He also questioned Azmi’s legitimacy to stay in the country, saying, “The person who feels ashamed about the heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and considers Aurangzeb his idol, does he have the right to stay in our country?”
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav came out in support of the MLA and termed his suspension an “attack on freedom of expression.” Yadav asserted that if such decisions are influenced by ideology, there will be no difference between freedom of expression and subjection.
“If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will there be between freedom of expression and subjection? Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by ‘suspension’ one can rein them in, then this is their childishness…,” Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi.
The SP legislator reacted to his suspension from the assembly and said it was an “injustice” and questioned the double standards of the government. “My suspension is an injustice, not just to me but to the millions of people whom I represent… I would like to ask the government whether two types of laws are followed in the state? One law for Abu Azmi and another law for Prashant Koratkar and Rahul Sholapurkar,” he said.
After the outrage over his comments, Azmi in a post on X on Tuesday had said his statements were twisted. “Whatever I have said about Aurangzeb is something that has been stated by historians and writers. I have not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any national icons. Still, if anyone is hurt by my remarks, then I take back my statements and comments,” he said.
In a video posted on X, Azmi also argued that his remarks on Aurangzeb were made outside the House and not inside. He said he withdrew his statement to ensure the House functions, but “still there is a controversy.” “To ensure that the House functions, I spoke about withdrawing my statement. I did not say anything wrong. Still, there is a controversy and proceedings of the House are being stalled,” he said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday lambasted Azmi both in the legislative council and assembly. “Azmi is purposely insulting Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj. Sambhaji Maharaj’s bravery and Aurangzeb’s cruelty will give goosebumps to people. The Mughal emperor not only killed Hindus but also people from other religions,” he had said. Shinde also dubbed Azmi a “traitor” and said he had no right to sit in the House.
While commenting on historical portrayals in the Bollywood film Chhava, Azmi had stated that history distorted Aurangzeb’s legacy and that he was not a cruel ruler as he had been made out. “Wrong things are being said about Aurangzeb. He constructed a lot of temples for Hindus. He even got one of his soldiers trampled by elephants when he wanted to marry a Hindu priest’s daughter. As a mark of their gratitude, they constructed a mosque for Muslims. History has been distorted,” Abu Azmi had said.
Azmi further said during Aurangzeb’s reign, India’s border reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). “Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of the world GDP)) and India was called a golden sparrow (during his regime),” he claimed. Azmi’s comments rocked both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling side demanding his suspension and that he be booked for treason.
