"No Muslim In India Descendant Of Aurangzeb": Devendra Fadnavis Amid Row

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said no Muslim in India is a descendant of Aurangzeb and nationalist Muslims in the country do not recognise the Mughal emperor as their leader.

He also hit out at Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar for visiting Aurangzeb's tomb in Aurangabad district and questioned Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray whether he approved his act.

Earlier this year, Mr Thackeray and Mr Ambedkar forged an alliance.

The VBA leader's visit to the tomb on Saturday took place against the backdrop of protests and clashes in parts of Maharashtra recently over social media posts glorifying Aurangzeb.

"What happened in Akola, Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur was not a coincidence, but it is an experiment. How come so many sympathisers of Aurangzeb surface in the state?" Mr Fadnavis asked while addressing a public rally in Akola as part of completion of Narendra Modi government's nine years in office.

"How can Aurangzeb be our leader? Our king is only one and that is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj...The Muslims in India, even they are not descendants of Aurangzeb. Tell me who is the descendant of Aurangzeb? Aurangzeb and his forefathers came from outside," he said.

"The nationalist Muslims in this country do not endorse him and they recognise only Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their leader," he added.

Targeting Mr Ambedkar for visiting Aurangzeb's tomb, Mr Fadnavis asked him what was the need to do so.

"Ambedkar says Aurangzeb ruled our country for a long period. So Hitler also ruled Germany. Many people used to revere Hitler like a God...It was not expected from you. Uddhav Thackeray has allied with Ambedkar. So do you (Thackeray) accept Ambedkar's act?" he asked.

Who is creating the descendants of Aurangzeb in the state. Those who try to disturb the peace will be dealt with sternly, Mr Fadnavis said.

Criticising Thackeray, the senior BJP leader said the Sena (UBT) president has borrowed "script writers" from his allies Congress and NCP as nobody seems to be left in his own faction to write speeches for him.

"But Uddhav ji, we know where and what is burning and how he feels. Whenever he is afraid of a leader, he claims that the latter is going to break Mumbai from Maharashtra. He keeps saying it all the time. But I can tell you one thing, nobody can break Mumbai from Maharashtra," he said.

"When Thackeray backstabbed the BJP and joined hands with Congress-NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, I had said that I will come back. I not only returned to power, but brought Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister along with me," he said.

Late Balasaheb Thackeray had once said that rather than joining hands with Congress and NCP, he would close down his party, Mr Fadnavis said.

"But Uddhav ji kept his ideology aside and indulged in loose talk against PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he alleged.

He also taunted Mr Thackeray saying those who sit at home all the time will never be able to understand the charisma of PM Modi and Mr Shah.

Talking about the upcoming meeting of anti-BJP parties in Bihar, he said. "Several opposition leaders are going to share the stage in Patna on June 23. A photo of the same leaders taken in 2019 had 52 leaders but the main opposition party Congress could win only 48 seats. No matter how many creepers come together, it cannot be an alternative to a banyan tree." PM Modi worked to give rights to the people's in the country. India was one of the only five countries in the world that produced anti-coronavirus vaccines. The PM sent these vaccines to 100 countries, Mr Fadnavis said.

Farmers in Maharashtra are benefiting from several central government schemes like the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that in the last nine years, India became self-sufficient and PM Modi has emerged as the most popular leader in the world today.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)