Lucknow: Famous poet Munnawar Rana's son Tabrez Rana waded into the "Aurangzeb praise row". Reacting to the controversy, Tabrez Rana said that Aurangzeb ruled for 48 years and Hindus would not have survived if he had massacred them. He added that such controversies erupt when there are no new accomplishments to show.
"Aurangzeb ruled for 48 years. Had he massacred Hindus in those 48 years, he would have killed so many. Would Hindus have survived then? Had he destroyed temples? Would the temples have remained for 48 years?" Tabrez told ANI. In an apparent dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, he said that bulldozers were used in the past 10 years but Aurangzeb had 48 years.
Talking about his father, Tabrez told the news agency, the only mistake of his father was that he was doing 'Gandhigiri' in the era of 'Godse'. "Bulldozers were used in these 10 years of government. But he had 48 years. Neither we nor social media existed then...When my late father Munawwar Rana could be bad...what was his mistake? That he was doing Gandhigiri in the era of Godse," he said.
Tabrez Rana's Statement:
"This (controversy) happens when we have nothing new to show. Had we done something new, something good, we would not have gone into the past...You hate Mughal but like Mughlai," Tabrez further stated.
Earlier this week, Samajwadi Party's (SP's) Maharashtra MLA Abu Azmi stirred a political controversy after making controversial remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. On Tuesday, he apologised and retracted his remarks.
“I would never imagine insulting a figure like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, DR Bhimrao Ambedkar. We all respect them. I would never speak ill about these legendary kings. If anyone is hurt by my statement, which was twisted, I take my statement back," Azmi had said.
On Wednesday, the SP MLA was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly over his controversial remarks in which he allegedly praised Aurangzeb.
