Members of the ruling Mahayuti on Tuesday demanded a sedition case against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi to suspend the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and to praise the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Due to uproar on this issue, the House was adjourned for the day after being interrupted several times, as Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other members were adamant on demanding action against Azmi.
As soon as the proceedings of the House started, members of the ruling coalition claimed that Azmi was a descendant of Aurangzeb, who tortured Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and brutally murdered him.
Atul Bhatkalkar (BJP) demanded that a case of treason be registered on Azmi and they should be suspended from the assembly for the budget session. Shiv Sena minister Gulabrao Patil also demanded action against Azmi. Sudhir Mungantiwar (BJP) demanded that Aurangzeb’s grave be demolished.
In view of the fierce mood of the members, Speaker Rahul Narvekar first adjourned the proceedings of the House for 10 minutes. When the proceedings of the House started again, Industry Minister Uday Samanta (Shiv Sena) reiterated the demand that Azmi be suspended from the House and a case of treason should be registered against them.
He said, “He tolerated the press of a person who harassed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and tortured his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.”
Amid the uproar, the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) member Bhaskar Jadhav, who attempted to speak on the adjournment notice presented by him, termed the developments in the House as “drama”. After the uproar, the speaker adjourned the house for 30 minutes. When the House resumed, Deputy Chief Minister Shinde said that Azmi is ‘traitors’ and he has no right to sit in the assembly.
Shinde asked Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Sheikh to watch the recent Hindi film ‘Chhava’, which depicts the bravery and sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj. He said, “See how many tortures Sambhaji Maharaj suffered for 40 days. Aurangzeb asked him to change his religion.”
The Shiv Sena chief said that praising Aurangzeb is an insult to the national heroes of the country. He also said that Sambhaji Maharaj won 70 battles in nine years. The Shiv Sena leader said that Aurangzeb demolished the temples and killed his own family.
The uproar continued and the presiding officer Sanjay Kelkar adjourned the house for 15 minutes for the third time. Later, when the proceedings of the House started again, the members of Mahayuti came to the well and started shouting slogans against Azmi.
After this, Chairman Norwekar postponed the proceedings of the House for the day.
