Raut says BJP rule worse than Aurangzeb’s

Mumbai:Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday made a stinging attack on the BJP saying the saffron party’s rule in Maharashtra is worse than that of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. The BJP is responsible for farmer suicides, as well as distress among unemployed individuals and women in the state, he said.

“It’s been 400 years since Aurangzeb was buried. Forget him. Are farmers in Maharashtra committing suicide due to Aurangzeb? They are doing it because of you (the BJP-led Mahayuti government). If the Mughal ruler committed atrocities, then what is today’s government doing?” asked Raut.

The farmers, unemployed youth and women in the state are suffering under the present government, leading to rising suicides. BJP’s tenure is worse than that of Aurangzeb, Raut stated.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader was responding to a question on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ remarks that “everyone” feels Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar should be removed, but it must be done within the legal framework. He added that the previous Congress-led government had put the site under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which now makes any action complicated.

Recently, BJP’s Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Maratha kingdom founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had demanded that the tomb be razed. “What is the need... send a JCB machine and raze his grave... he was a thief and lootera (robber),” he said.

“Those who visit Aurangzeb's tomb and pay homage should take that tomb to their own homes, but the glorification of Aurangzeb will not be tolerated anymore,” he said.

Last week, Samajwadi Party Abu Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha till the end of the budget session over his remarks praising Aurangzeb. Calling the Mughal emperor ‘not a cruel leader’ and a great administrator, Azmi had said he was depicted wrongly in history.