Abu Azmi's suspension not enough, says BJP's Jagdambika Pal

New Delhi [India], March 5 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagdambika Pal on Wednesday called for stricter action against Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi for his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, saying that his suspension from the Maharashtra Assembly was "not enough."
Pal criticized Azmi for glorifying a ruler who, he claimed, sought to "eliminate the culture and Sanatana Dharma after becoming emperor."
"In his statement, Abu Azmi highlighted the greatness of Aurangzeb, who killed his elder brother out of greed for the empire. He called such a king great. Aurangzeb tried to eliminate the culture and Sanatana Dharma after becoming an emperor," Pal told ANI.
"He (Aurangzeb) attacked temples and converted Hindus. Abu Azmi is glorifying such an emperor. This suspension is not enough; strict action should be taken against him...Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav support this statement...The nation now understands how low the Samajwadi Party can stoop for appeasement politics," he added.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session. A proposal was brought in the Maharashtra Assembly today against Azmi's remarks.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said in the House that Azmi's objectionable statement had hurt the dignity of the House, leading to the proposal to suspend his membership for this session, which the Speaker passed.
Azmi had reportedly said that Aurangzeb was not a "cruel administrator" and had "built many temples". He further claimed that the battle between the Mughal emperor and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was for state administration and not about Hindu and Muslim.
Following his suspension, Azmi expressed disappointment.
Abu Azmi said, "To ensure that the House functions, I spoke about withdrawing my statement. I did not say anything wrong. Still, there is a controversy and proceedings of the House are being stalled. To ensure that the House functions and some work is done during Budget Session...I withdrew the statement that I made outside the Assembly, not in the House. Still, I have been suspended."
Azmi also got the support of SP chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav who claimed that the suspension was the violation of the freedom of expression.
"If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will there be between freedom of expression and subjection? Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by 'suspension', one can rein them in, then this is the childishness of their negative thinking," Akhilesh Yadav said. (ANI)