SP MLA Abu Azmi Withdraws Aurangzeb Remarks Amid Row In Maharashtra Assembly: 'It Would Be Unjust To...'

Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi has retracted his statement praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb as a "good administrator" following widespread controversy.

On Monday, Azmi stated that he wished to put the matter to rest.

Azmi, who serves as the Maharashtra president of the SP, faced severe backlash after his remarks on Aurangzeb. Commenting on historical portrayals in the Bollywood film 'Chhava', Azmi claimed that history had misrepresented Aurangzeb's legacy and that he was not a tyrannical ruler.

"If my statement has hurt people, I take back my statement. I have never spoken badly against great personalities. It would be unjust to the people of Maharashtra to disrupt Assembly proceedings over this issue. I take back my statement, and I want the matter to be put to rest," the SP legislator stated.

Clarifying his comments further, Azmi said, "When I exited the Assembly yesterday, the press questioned me regarding a statement by the Assam Chief Minister comparing Rahul Gandhi to Aurangzeb. I do not know what kind of ruler he was; I only know what many historians have written. Many historians have praised him. Their books have not been banned. I simply repeated what they have stated."

"I could never dream of uttering disrespectful words against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, or Rajshri Shahuji Maharaj. However, Prashant Koratkar and Rahul Solapurkar have made remarks, and they have security. Why is there such an uproar over my statement?" he added.

Calls for Suspension

On Tuesday, members of the ruling Mahayuti alliance demanded Azmi's suspension from the Maharashtra Assembly. The ongoing uproar over the matter led to the House being adjourned twice.

Abu Azmi's Statement on Aurangzeb

SP MLA Azmi sparked outrage from BJP leaders by stating that he does not consider 17th-century Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to have been a cruel or intolerant ruler.

"Wrong things are being said about Aurangzeb. He constructed numerous temples for Hindus. He even had one of his soldiers trampled by elephants when the soldier sought to marry a Hindu priest's daughter. As a gesture of gratitude, a mosque was later built for Muslims. History has been misrepresented," Azmi remarked on Monday.

Azmi also claimed that during Aurangzeb's reign, India's borders extended as far as Afghanistan and Burma (now Myanmar). "Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent of the world's GDP, and India was known as the golden sparrow during his rule," he asserted.

Reacting strongly to the comments, Shiv Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was taking the matter seriously and demanded that Azmi be charged with treason.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Police have registered a case against Azmi under multiple sections of the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over his remarks on Aurangzeb.

The case was filed at Wagle Estate Police Station under BNS Sections 299, 302, 356(1), and 356(2), following a complaint by Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske, who also declared that "Abu Azmi has no right to stay in India."