Aurangzeb tomb a testament to valour and courage of Marathas: Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut accused the RSS and its sister organizations of "fanning flames" and "provoking people". (File photo: PTI)

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and editor of Saamana Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said that the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was a testament to the valour and courage of Marathas and desecrating it would amount to wiping away the battles of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

"For us (Maha Vikas Aghadi), this is not about Aurangzeb’s tomb, that is not significant to us. This (the grave) is a testament to the valour and courage of Marathas. A Mughal emperor came to conquer Maharashtra but failed multiple times as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and then other Maratha leaders for 25 years, engaged him in battle. He (Aurangzeb) had to die here, and thus the tomb is a testament to Maratha history," Raut said in an interview to The Indian Express.

"If you desecrate that place, you are wiping away the history of the battles of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The RSS wants to decimate this history," he added.

Raut's remarks came amid a massive row over the Mughal ruler's grave in the state with several right-wing outfits demanding that the tomb be removed in order to end the glorification of an evil emperor.

On Monday, VHP and Bajrang Dal hit the streets in Nagpur to press for their demands. By evening, alleged rumours regarding the desecration of a holy book led to unprecedented riots in the district with mobs resorting to violence and arson, leaving several policemen injured.

Addressing the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the violence in Nagpur was part of a well-planned conspiracy and promised action against the perpetrators.

Reacting to the CM's statement, Raut said that Nagpur is Fadnavis’s own city, and the violence reflected gross failure of his government and the Home Ministry which the CM heads.

"If you do not have intelligence on a pre-planned riot, then why are you the Home Minister? For 24 hours, members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal were signalling on camera that they would stir up trouble, their faces were on camera. Who were these people, who pre-planned (the incident)? Was he (Fadnavis) not aware of all these proclamations of troublemaking? What was the police department under him doing?" Raut asked.

Raut said that those demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb should have no problem in doing so sinc it is "their own government" which is in power. "Some people have said they will desecrate Aurangzeb’s tomb. Who has stopped them? It is their own government in the state, they don’t need to riot. Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, they should all go and dig it up. They should issue an ordinance, a government resolution, and destroy his tomb if they wish to do so. Why shy away from it?" Raut said.

Raut further said that the issue was stirred up after the release of the film Chhava. "The RSS and its sister organizations are adept at fanning flames and provoking people on such issues. And yesterday we saw violence in Nagpur. The city has a history of over 300 years and it has never seen communal disturbances," he added.

On Tuesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also aired similar sentiments and said: "I am not the Chief Minister, nor am I the Home Minister, ask the Chief Minister who is behind this (violence). Because the RSS headquarters is there. There is a double-engine government here...if the double-engine government has failed, then they should resign."