Remarks on Aurangzeb: CM lashes out at SP, says it should suspend MLA from party immediately

A political storm has erupted in Uttar Pradesh after Maharashtra Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi praised Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, drawing sharp reactions from the ruling BJP.

During the final day of the Budget session in the Vidhan Parishad on Wednesday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the Samajwadi Party for its silence on the remarks and demanded Azmi’s (without naming him) immediate suspension from the party.

Targeting the SP, Yogi remarked, “Send him to UP; we know how to deal with such people. It won’t take us long.”

The controversy erupted after Azmi referred to Aurangzeb as a “great administrator”. Reacting sharply, Adityanath accused the SP of not respecting India’s cultural heritage and deviating from the principles of its ideological founder Dr Ram Manohar Lohia.

“Lohia would identify Lord Ram, Lord Krisnha and Lord Shiva as the pillars of India’s unity. But today the SP is glorifying a ruler like Aurangzeb.”

Referring to historical accounts, the CM pointed out that Aurangzeb imprisoned his father Shahjahan in Agra Fort and denied him even water.

He advised SP members to visit the library in Patna to read Shahjahan’s biography, which, according to him, records that the Mughal once told Aurangzeb, “A Hindu is better than you, as they serve their parents while alive and perform rituals to honour them after death.”

Adityanath said that those who shared Aurangzeb’s ideology might take pride in him, but his government stood firmly against such blatant glorification.

SP REACTS

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav reacting to the suspension of his party MLA from Maharashtra Assembly, in a post in Hindi on X wrote: “If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will remain between freedom of expression and slavery. Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by ‘suspension’ one can put a rein on truth, then this is the childishness of their negative thinking. Today’s free thinking says, we don’t want BJP!”

SP spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said: “This cannot be the language of a person holding constitutional post. Ilaaj kara denge...is a language which smacks of authoritarianism.”