'For the sake of vote bank': BJP slams NCP for demanding restoration of Aurangzeb's Palace

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the latter's leader Ilyas Kirmani made a controversial remark demanding the restoration of Mughal Emperor Auragzeb's Qila-e-Ark palace fort in Maharashtra's Aurangabad. The saffron party accused the NCP of eulogising Aurangzeb for the vote bank politics.

Speaking about the NCP leader's demand for the restoration of Aurangzeb's palace, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "NCP’s love for Aurangzeb has crossed all limits and yet again the NCP eulogising Aurangzeb for the sake of vote bank politics. First, Jitendra Awhad said that he (Aurangzeb) was not a Hindu hater, despite the fact that Aurangzeb had imposed jizya on Hindus, despite the fact that he broke Mandirs and converted people at the strength of the sword. Now you have another leader of NCP (Ilyas Kirmani) who has written a letter saying that Aurangzeb was a ‘Samraat Aurangzeb’ and his palace should be restored using public funds."

BJP slams NCP for demanding restoration of Aurangzeb's Palace

Adding further, Poonawalla said, "This is done by the same ecosystem which sometimes goes to the grave of Aurangzeb and eulogies him. This is the same ecosystem that opposes the renaming of Aurangzeb road, an invader's name being removed and replaced by APJ Abdul Kalam. This is the same ecosystem that will attack, abuse and insult Savarkar ji and other nationalists. It also concocts and conjures up Hindu terror, saffron terror but it hails and eulogies Aurangzeb."

"It hails and comes in the defence of Yakub Memon. It comes in the defence of Afzal Guru. This is the vote bank politics because of which in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, here you have NCP who time and again eulogising Aurangzeb for vote bank politics," the BJP leader said.

Notably, Kirmani, Maharashtra NCP vice president, demanded the Qila-e-Ark be restored along with the works that are currently underway for an upcoming G20-related event in Aurangabad city, PTI reported.