'Will be 100% put in jail': Fadnavis, Uddhav back Abu Azmi's suspension from Assembly over Aurangzeb row

Ruling Mahayuti members protest against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi over his remarks about Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during the Budget session of the Maharashtra Assembly in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

As the row over Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi's suspension from the Maharashtra Assembly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb snowballed, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he will be "100 per cent" put in jail.

In the legislative council, when Fadnavis was asked by Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena (UBT) why Azmi was not jailed for his remarks, he said the MLA from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai will be "100 per cent" put in jail, PTI reported.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, an MLC, also asserted that no one should dare speak against national icons and it is the government's responsibility to take strict action against those who make offensive remarks against them.

"He (Azmi) should be permanently suspended (from assembly)," Thackeray demanded, PTI reported.

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, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at Azmi and challenged Akhilesh Yadav to expel Azmi over his remark, saying, “Remove that person from Samajwadi Party and send him to UP, we will do his treatment.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the state assembly passed a motion unanimously to suspend Azmi from the House till the end of the budget session.

What did Abu Azmi say?

While commenting on historical portrayals in the Bollywood film Chhava, Azmi on MOnday claimed that history distorted Aurangzeb’s legacy and that he was not a cruel ruler.

“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 said on Monday.

Azmi further said that 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.

Members of the treasury benches said Azmi’s remark praising Aurangzeb was a insult of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

Later, in a video statement released by Azmi office, the Samajwadi Party asserted he had not said anything wrong, but retracted the comments, which he made outside the Assembly, to ensure the House functions properly.

"Still I was suspended," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)