Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also demanded that Azmi’s membership of the legislative assembly be revoked.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi has been suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly till the Budget Session following his controversial remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. This comes a day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that they have put forth their demand to suspend the Azmi from the House. “We have condemned his statement. His statement will cost him, and the people of Maharashtra will not forgive him… He will be suspended; we have put forth our demand to suspend him (from the House),” CM Shinde had told reporters.
During his recent interaction with the media in the Marine Drive area, Azmi stated that “Aurangzeb was a good administrator”. However, on Tuesday, Azmi said that his words had been twisted and that he was ready to take back his statement and apologise if sentiments were hurt. “My words have been twisted. I have said what historians and writers have claimed about Aurangzeb Rahmatullah Ali,” Azmi said.
“I have not made any derogatory comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any other great men – but still if anyone has been hurt by my statement, then I take back my words, my statement,” Azmi said in a video on his X. The Samajwadi Party MLA also said that the issue was being politicised. “The issue is being made a political issue, and I think that closing the budget session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly because of this is causing harm to the people of Maharashtra,” Azmi said.
