Mumbai, March 4 Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Azmi, whose praise for Aurangzeb stirred a hornet’s nest, came forward to clarify the issue and stated that he didn’t intend to admire or eulogise the Mughal ruler or insult the Maratha warriors and other national icons, as claimed by the ruling parties in Maharashtra, particularly the BJP and Shiv Sena.
Speaking to IANS on the raging controversy, Abu Azmi said that his remarks were rather a reaction to a prodding question and not a statement on Aurangzeb.
“I was poked by TV scribes to respond on Assam CM drawing comparisons between Rahul Gandhi and Aurangzeb. It was only then I spoke about the Aurangzeb regime,” he said.
Also, what I said has been documented in books by many historians.
“I merely quoted from books written by historians like Satish Chandra, Dr Rajeev Dikshit, Meena Bharagava and more. I spoke what they have written about the Aurangzeb regime,” said Abu Azmi, facing fire from all political parties.
On Sunday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma invoked Aurangzeb to slam INDIA bloc leaders over their attempts to demean and denigrate Hinduism.
Speaking at an event in Kolkata, Himanta had said, "Aurangzeb had vowed to destroy Hinduism but it prevailed while Mughal reign ended. I would like to say to Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi that if they think that they can end Hinduism, I would like to tell them that Hinduism will not end. They will end. Hinduism can never end.”
Abu Azmi also claimed that his comments have been twisted and taken out of context, with a clear and deliberate political motive.
“There is a clear attempt to polarise the communities and take the political mileage out of the issue by defaming me,” he claimed.
The Samajwadi Party MLA further told the press that he has been receiving multiple abuses and threats on the phone and said that he will soon approach the police commissioner for his security.
He claimed that those who are in power are the ones, stoking controversy over his statement and hence he expects little state support.
This afternoon, the SP leader also issued a video message saying that he was withdrawing his statement on Aurangzeb, as some people have been hurt by his remarks.
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