Shiv Sena (Ubt) Wants Shah Booked for Calling Aurangzeb’s Grave ‘Samadhi’

Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday slammed Union home minister Amit Shah for calling the grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb as ‘samadhi’ (memorial). Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut demanded that an FIR should be registered against Mr. Shah. Aditya Thackeray said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was disrespected by the BJP leader.

The Union home minister was on a two-day tour of Maharashtra. Mr. Shah, on Saturday, paid respect to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the historic Raigad Fort after arriving on Friday night at Pune. Mr. Shah said that Raigad Fort should be transformed as a “place of inspiration” for the youth of the country instead of a place of tourism and stressed that his legacy shouldn’t be confined to Maharashtra.

Mr. Raut said that the BJP leaders have been demanding to demolish Aurangzeb’s grave, but the Shiv Sena (UBT) is of the view that it is a live example of the bravery of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “Those who came to invade Maharashtra were buried (in the grave). But the BJP leaders wanted to demolish the grave,” he said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that his party calls it ‘Kabar’ (grave) where Aurangzeb was buried but the county’s union minister Amit Shah has called it “Samadhi” (memorial). “Is it not an insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to refer to the grave of Aurangzeb as Samadhi? If a leader from any other party has used the word Samadhi, the BJP would have staged protests across the country,” he said..

Mr. Raut demanded that an FIR should be registered in Raigad police station against Amit Shah for disrespecting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as Mr. Shah had multiple times called Shivaji instead of calling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Maharashtra had witnessed controversy last month over the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb. The ruling party BJP and Shiv Sena have been demanding the removal of the Mughal emperor’s tomb. The workers of Bajrang Dal and VHP had staged a protest for the removal of the Mughal emperor in Nagpur on March 17, leading to the riots, which had claimed one life.

Aditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray and MLA from Worli, also equated the BJP with Mughal and British rulers, stating the BJP wants to loot Maharashtra. The junior Thackeray said that Amit Shah had disrespected Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “The ideology of BJP is the same as that of ancient invaders. Look at the situation of women, farmers, Pune,and  Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. It seems as if it is Mughal rule going on,” he said.