Nitesh Rane, took a dig at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar calling him a reincarnation of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb on Thursday, a day after the NCP president attacked the BJP-Shiv Sena government over the growing communal tension in Maharashtra.“Whenever elections approach, Sharad Pawar starts worrying about Muslims. Sometimes it makes one wonder if Aurangzeb’s rebirth is Sharad Pawar” Rane, the eldest of the two sons of Union minister Narayan Rane, tweeted in Marathi.
Rane’s controversial remarks were in response to a media report about Pawar expressing concern for the minority communities such as Muslims and Christians in Maharashtra. “Pawar Saheb gets worried for the Muslim community as the election approaches. Sometimes it seems that Sharad Pawar is the reincarnation of Aurangzeb,” he tweeted. Though NCP has called for Rane to delete the tweet, the BJP leader has not budged from his stance.The political controversy erupted following the Kolhapur violence in Maharashtra in which a rally by Hindu organisations at Shivaji Chowk to protest some social media posts allegedly glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan turned sour. Following the conclusion of the rally , some miscreants started pelting stones at homes and business establishments owned by the Muslim community, turning the protests violent.