A Mumbai court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in a case filed against him for remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.While granting relief to Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till March 26, imposed a set of conditions and directed him to furnish a solvent surety bond of Rs 20,000.
A case was registered at south Mumbai's Marine Drive police station last week against the MLA from the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency in the metropolis under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over his remarks eulogising the medieval-era Mughal emperor.
Abu Azmi on Tuesday paid tributes to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj on his death anniversary hailing him as a valiant warrior a week after the Maharashtra Assembly suspended him for the ongoing budget session due to his remarks praising Aurangzeb.
Azmi, in a post on X said, “On the martyrdom day of the second Chhatrapati of Swarajya, the valiant warrior, Dharmveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, I pay my humble tribute.”
Azmi’s allies in the state, leaders of the Congress and the NCP (SP) differed in their views about the Samajwadi leader’s gesture.
Congress leader Bhai Jagtap said to the ANI: “ It is a good thing...he (Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj) was a great fighter, he has been the ‘Chhaava’ of this land...he won all the 126 fights...we welcome this. This is the truth and our history and everybody must respect it...”
Nephew of Sharad Pawar, MLA Rohit Pawar, called Azmi’s comments about Aurangzeb as low level politics.
“Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule, Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar, Lokmanya Annabhau Sathe and others have done excellent work for the people in the kingdom and society... It is important to remember that leaders should not solely focus on BJP... If you are a leader from the state, you should think about Maharashtra rather than just doing low-level politics...”
On March 4, Azmi praised Aurangzeb’s temple-building efforts and governance.
“Wrong history is being shown in ‘Chaava’... Aurangzeb built several temples. I do not think he was a cruel administrator. Aurangzeb a good administrator, India had thrived under his rule,” the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar MLA said.
His comments sparked a backlash, with Mahayuti leaders accusing him of disrespecting two of Maharashtra’s most revered figures, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
The Maharashtra Assembly suspended Azmi the next day for the ongoing Budget Session, which concludes on March 26.
On March 8, Azmi wrote a letter to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, demanding the revocation of his suspension, labelling action against him “unfair” and an “injustice” to the “millions of people” he represents.
In the letter, Abu Azmi stated, “My statement is clear, everything I said was in reference to history. At no point did I make any controversial remarks about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. I hold great respect for both Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The media misquoted my statement, and therefore, I respectfully request the revocation of my suspension.”
The Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders of the state lambasted the BJP for the controversy.
On March 5, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the BJP scripted Azmi’s remarks to divert public attention from key issues. The Congress legislature party leader said: “Abu Azmi reads out a script written by the BJP.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) in an editorial published in Saamna, the party’s mouthpiece, accused the BJP of using Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi’s controversial remarks on Aurangzeb to divert attention and prevent the opposition from taking credit for Dhananjay Munde’s resignation.
The remarks of the SP leader had a ripple effect in Uttar Pradesh too.
Addressing the UP assembly on March 5, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath 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.”
Adityanath also questioned Azmi’s legitimacy to stay in the country, saying: “The person who feels ashamed about the heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and considers Aurangzeb his idol, does he have the right to stay in our country?”
But Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP over Azmi’s suspension, calling it the action against his party leader as an attempt to “silence the truth”.
“If suspensions start being influenced by ideology, then what will remain the difference between freedom of expression and subjugation? Whether it’s our legislators or parliamentarians, their fearless wisdom is unparalleled. If some people think that a “suspension” can silence the truth, then it is nothing but the immaturity of their negative thinking," Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X.
Azmi is not new to controversy. Earlier, in 2014, Azmi said that women who are raped should be punished any woman if, whether married or unmarried, goes along with a man, with or without her consent, should be hanged, as reported by the NDTV.