Under fire, Abu Azmi retracts remarks on Aurangzeb

Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA and the chief of its Maharashtra unit Abu Azmi on Tuesday withdrew his controversial statement that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb was "not a cruel leader", after facing intense backlash from across the political spectrum.

Azmi clarified that his statements were "twisted" and that he had no intention of disrespecting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The MLA had earlier sparked a political firestorm by asserting that Aurangzeb was "not a cruel leader". His remarks were widely condemned, with critics accusing him of insulting revered Maratha figures (Sambhaji was executed on Aurangzeb's orders, while the Mughal ruler carried on a lifelong feud with Shivaji). Many leaders called him "anti-national" and demanded that a case of sedition be registered against him.

Following the uproar, Azmi posted a video on X defending his position. "Yesterday, on 3 March, when the Assembly session ended and I came out, the media told me that the chief minister of Assam had compared Rahul Gandhi to Aurangzeb. In response, I spoke about Aurangzeb, but my words were blown out of proportion as if a storm had come. I have not insulted anyone," he said.

He further emphasised his respect for national icons, stating, "I respect Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, and all great men who stood for equality in society."

Clarifying his comments on Aurangzeb, Azmi said, "When I quoted a historian's book about Aurangzeb, I never spoke ill of any of our great men. But if my statements, which have been distorted, have offended anyone, I take them back. The assembly has important work to do, and it should not be disrupted over this issue."

Azmi's retraction came after an FIR was filed against him at Thane's Wagle Estate police station on a complaint by Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske. He was booked under sections 299, 302, 356(1), and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the case has since been transferred to Marine Drive police station.

The controversy erupted when Azmi, addressing reporters in Mumbai at the start of the Maharashtra assembly session, responded to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's comparison of Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to Aurangzeb.

"Aurangzeb got several temples built. In Varanasi, he saved a Hindu girl from a priest who had an evil eye on her. He had the priest trampled by elephants," Azmi had claimed. "I don't consider Aurangzeb a cruel ruler. During that era, power struggles were political, not religious. Aurangzeb's army had many Hindus, just as Chhatrapati Shivaji's army had several Muslims."

With agency inputs