The Shiv Sena's Pune unit staged a protest against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Wednesday, saying his remarks praising Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb were an insult to Maharashtra's pride.
Aurangzeb's atrocities against Hindus and his attempts to impose religious conversion cannot be glorified and Azmi should be booked on charges of treason, Shiv Sena city president Pramod Nana Bhangire said.
Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra assembly till the end of its ongoing budget session over his comments eulogising Aurangzeb.
Bhangire led the protest near Sarasbaug in Pune, condemning Azmi's remarks as an "insult to Maharashtra's pride".
"Praising such a tyrant is equal to insulting the self-esteem of Maharashtra. The insult of icons in the state will not be tolerated. We will teach a befitting lesson to those who resort to the glorification of Aurangzeb," he said.
Bhangire also demanded a case of treason be registered against Azmi and that he should resign as MLA.
Azmi, president of the Samajwadi Party's state unit, had said that during Aurangzeb's reign, India's border reached 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)," claimed the MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency in Mumbai.
Asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had termed it a political battle.
His comments had rocked both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling side demanding his suspension and that he be booked for treason.
