The Mumbai police have booked Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi allegedly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by commenting on temples during the era, besides claiming that "the ruling party wants to destroy Muslims in the country." According to police officials, the case was registered by a social worker, who is also a member of the Shiv Sena, at a police station in Thane. However, the investigation was transferred to the Marine Drive police in Mumbai as the alleged remarks were made during an interview given on the premises of the state legislative building. The complainant stated that he was watching the news around 7.30 pm on Monday when he saw the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar MLA praising Aurangzeb as an excellent administrator and claiming that India was referred to as “sone ki chidiya (golden bird)” during his reign. “Abu Azmi also said that India's GDP was 24 per cent during Aurangzeb's rule, which is why the British came to India,” the complaint added.
