‘Destroy Aurangzeb’s grave': Shiv Sena MP's demand in Lok Sabha

Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske on Wednesday demanded the destruction of the grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Maharashtra's Khuldabad.

According to a PTI report, Mhaske while raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, claimed that out of the 3,691 monuments and graves preserved by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), 25 per cent are of Mughal and British officers “who worked against the country's culture and traditions.”

Mhaske said Aurangzeb killed Chhattrapati Sambhaji and destroyed and looted Hindu temples.

“Aurangzeb, who also killed the ninth and tenth Sikh gurus, lies buried in a grave at Khuldabad, which is protected by the ASI,” he added.

"What is the need to preserve a memorial of someone as cruel as Aurangzeb? The memorials to Aurangzeb and everyone who worked against India should be destroyed," Mhaske, a Lok Sabha member from Thane parliamentary constituency, was quoted by PTI as saying.

Row over Mughal ruler Aurangzeb

The controversy over Mughal ruler Aurangzeb was reignited after Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over his remarks eulogising the medieval-era Mughal emperor.

Azmi, who is also the Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit president, had said that during Aurangzeb's reign, India's borders reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). "Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of world GDP) and India was called a golden sparrow ," claimed the opposition legislator.

ALSO READ: Yogi Adityanath slams opposition for glorifying Aurangzeb, questions intentions

Asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had termed it a political battle.

The remarks were made in the backdrop of blockbuster Hindi film 'Chhaava', based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, who was captured by Aurangzeb's commander in 1689.

Last week, Azmi was suspended from the assembly till the ongoing budget session ends on March 26 over his remarks praising Aurangzeb. Members of the treasury benches had asserted in the assembly that Aurangzeb's praise amounted to an insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his warrior-son Chhattrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.