Samajwadi Party MLA booked for remarks allegedly praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb

Mar 5, 2025 - 16:30

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The Mumbai Police has registered a first information report against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi for allegedly making remarks praising the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar MLA said that he did not consider Aurangzeb to be a cruel ruler.

“Wrong history is being shown,” he said to reporters. “Aurangzeb built many temples. I do not consider him a cruel ruler.”

Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party President Abu Azmi on Aurangzeb says, "All the wrong history is being shown. Aurangzeb built many temples...Aurangzeb is not a cruel leader" pic.twitter.com/cfSr26ZE6o— IANS (@ians_india) March 3, 2025

This sparked a controversy, prompting Azmi to retract his statement. He stated that his comment was blown out of proportion and that he did not intend to insult anyone.

“When I quoted a historian’s book about Aurangzeb, I never spoke ill of any of our great men,” he said in a video posted on social media. “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.”

He also said that his initial statement was in response to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma drawing a comparison between Aurangzeb and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday.