Abu Azmi has been suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly following his controversial remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. The suspension of the Maharashtra SP President comes during the ongoing state Budget Session, and according to reports, he will stay suspended from the House until the Session ends.
The state legislature’s budget session is set to conclude on March 26. State minister Chandrakant Patil had on Tuesday introduced the motion for suspension in the House.
Treasury bench members argued that praising Aurangzeb was an insult to Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The motion was approved through a voice vote.
Azmi, the president of the Samajwadi Party’s state unit, had claimed that during Aurangzeb’s rule, India’s borders extended to Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar).
“Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of the world GDP) and India was called a golden sparrow (during his regime),” Azmi had said.
His remarks caused a stir in both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling party calling for his suspension and for treason charges to be filed against him. On Tuesday, Azmi took to X, and said that his statements had been misinterpreted.