Akbaruddin Owaisi had visited the tomb before addressing a rally in Aurangabad city. (File photo)
AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi's visit to the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at Khuldabad in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district has drawn flak from the ruling Shiv Sena, which questioned his move and warned that if he tried to "create problems in the society" it would not be tolerated.
Mr Owaisi had visited the tomb on Thursday before addressing a rally in Aurangabad city.
Former Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and the party's Aurangabad district unit chief and MLC Ambadas Danve has taken a strong objection to Mr Owaisi's visit to the tomb. But All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Lok Sabha MP Imtiaz Jaleel said there was no need to draw a "different meaning" out of it.
"The motive behind Akbaruddin Owaisi's visit to Aurangzeb's tomb cannot be understood. We remember the statements he had made earlier...No one goes to the tomb of Aurangzeb. But if Owaisi is going there to create problems in the society, then we will not tolerate it," Mr Khaire said.
Mr Danve said, "It is not surprising that Owaisi went to Aurangzeb's tomb. The thinking of Nizam, Razakars (the paramilitary volunteer force deployed by the Nizam of Hyderabad to resist the princely state's integration with India during 1947-48) and the earlier Islamic dynasties is the same. As per that ideology, Owaisi visited the tomb. But those Muslims, who think about the welfare of the nation, should stay away from AIMIM and Owaisi." Defending Owaisi, Jaleel said, "There are many tombs (in Khuldabad) and they have a history. Anyone who comes to Khuldabad visits tomb of Aurangzeb. There is no need to draw a different meaning out of this." On Thursday, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had also objected to Owaisi's visit to the Mughal emperor's tomb.
Gajanan Kale, an MNS leader from Navi Mumbai, had warned saying, "The Maharashtra government should take action against Owaisi for visiting the tomb of Aurangzeb. If no action is taken, then the MNS will take the matter into its own hands."