Aurangabad, May 13: AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi faced flak for visiting the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Khuldabad, Aurangabad. Owaisi was in the district days after MNS chief Raj Thackeray held a public rally there demanding removal of loudspeakers from atop mosques.
It was his visit to Aurangzeb’s tomb that prompted former MP and Shiv Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire to allege that Owaisi was trying to create a political controversy. “No one, neither a Hindu or a Muslim, visits the tomb as Aurangzeb was the cruelest Mughal emperor. But Owaisi and his party leaders are trying to create a controversy for political benefit,” Khaire said.
Owaisi was accompanied by AIMIM leader and Aurangabad MP Imtiyaz Jaleel who defended the visit by saying that anyone who visits Dargah Sharif Hazrat Baba Shah Musafir at Khuldabad offers a chadar and flowers at all dargahs in the vicinity.
Gajanan Kale, an MNS leader from Navi Mumbai, took exception to Owaisi’s visit to the tomb and said, “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 in its own hands.”
Raj Thackeray who left the Shiv Sena in 2005 and later floated his own party, had held a rally in Aurangabad early this month where he reiterated his opposition to loudspeakers atop mosques and demanded their removal.