Abu Azmi to be arrested over Aurangzeb remarks? Devendra Fadnavis vows action, says ‘will be 100% put in jail’

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi will be arrested for his controversial remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Addressing the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Fadnavis assured the House that action would be taken, while also taking a swipe at the Opposition.

When Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve questioned why Azmi had not been jailed yet, Fadnavis responded by challenging Thackeray’s Shiv Sena to condemn former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for his alleged derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his book Discovery of India.

“Chairman sir (Azmi) will be put in jail. 100 per cent will be put in jail. You (Danve) should have taken the correct information. I ask, will you protest against what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has written in the book Discovery of India? Will you protest? Will you protest against what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has written against Shivaji Maharaj in the book Discovery of India? Do you have the courage? We will not tolerate the insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The lion who was ready to die for the country and religion was the son of Shiva. There was only one great and powerful king,” Fadnavis said in the House.

On Wednesday, Abu Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the entire ongoing budget session, which concludes on March 26, over his controversial remarks. Azmi, however, called the suspension unjust, pointing out that he had already withdrawn his comments.

Uddhav Thackeray calls for permanent suspension

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray also slammed Azmi, demanding his permanent suspension from the Assembly. “He should be suspended permanently, not just for the Budget Session. The action must be permanent,” Thackeray insisted.

SP chief and former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav also weighed in, criticising the suspension as ideologically motivated. In a post on X, Yadav wrote, “If suspensions start being dictated by ideology, then freedom of speech will become indistinguishable from slavery.”

Defending Azmi, Yadav praised the courage of SP leaders, saying, “Whether our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unparalleled. Those who think they can silence the truth through suspensions are only exposing the childishness of their negative thinking.”

Concluding his statement, Akhilesh took a direct dig at the BJP, saying, “Today’s free-thinking citizens have made up their minds — we don’t want BJP.”