LUCKNOW, Mar 5: On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a strong stance against the Samajwadi Party, accusing it of idolizing the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb and neglecting India’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage. Adityanath stated, “It is regrettable that the Samajwadi Party views Aurangzeb as its model. Even Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan, lamented in his autobiography that he wished no one would have such a wretched son.” This criticism arises amidst ongoing controversy in Maharashtra concerning remarks made by Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi, who was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly until the conclusion of the current Budget Session for praising Aurangzeb.
The chief minister further condemned the party for straying from the principles of socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, who championed India’s cultural unity despite being a political adversary of the Congress party. “To my colleagues in the Samajwadi Party, even if you do not take pride in India’s heritage, at least uphold the ideologies of the leader you exploit for political gain,” Adityanath remarked.
Quoting Dr. Lohia, he emphasized, “Lohia believed that India is built on the foundations of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, and Lord Shiva. As long as Indians honor these monumental figures, no force can prevent India from being India.”
Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party of diverting from Lohia’s teachings to oppose India’s cultural traditions. “The party has drifted so far from Lohia’s ideology that their primary objective seems to be attacking the legacies of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, and Lord Shiva,” he noted.
Referencing Aurangzeb’s oppressive reign, he remarked, “Aurangzeb imprisoned his own father, Shah Jahan, in Agra Fort, depriving him of basic comforts and leaving him to suffer.” He continued, “If the Samajwadi Party admires Aurangzeb, they should consult Shah Jahan’s autobiography in Patna, where he wishes for any Hindu son over Aurangzeb because a Hindu son serves his parents in their lifetime and performs their last rites with devotion, unlike Aurangzeb, who abandoned his father to die of thirst.”
“Today, no respectable Muslim names their child Aurangzeb, as they recognize that one’s actions define them. ‘Yatha naam tatha kaam’ (as the name, so the action),” Adityanath added.
He urged the Samajwadi Party to clarify its stance, questioning why it venerates a ruler who enforced jizya tax, persecuted non-Muslims, and endeavored to Islamize India. “The SP must respond whether it genuinely considers a tyrant like Aurangzeb its role model—one who attacked India’s faith and traditions,” Adityanath concluded. (Agencies)
