Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 3 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi on Monday defended his remarks regarding Aurangzeb, saying that the Mughal emperor also destroyed Mosques along with temples.

Refuting the claims that Aurangzeb was 'anti-Hindu', Azmi stated that the emperor had 34 per cent of Hindus in his administration and many of his advisors were Hindus. He further added that there was no need to give a communal angle to the issue.

'If Aurangzeb Rahmatullah Alaih had destroyed temples, he also destroyed mosques. Had he been against Hindus, 34 per cent of Hindus would not have been with him (in his administration), and his advisors would not have been Hindus. It is true that India was a golden sparrow during his rule. There is no need to give Hindu-Muslim angles to it,' Azmi told ANI.

The SP MLA further said that the struggle for power and property carried out by kings in the past 'was not religious'. Azmi maintained that he hasn't made any remarks against 'Hindu brothers'.

'The kings back then used to struggle for power and property, but it was nothing religious. He (Aurangzeb) ruled for 52 years, and if he was really converting Hindus into Muslims - imagine the number of Hindus that would have converted. In the 1857 rebellion, when Mangal Pandey started the fight, it was Bahadur Shah Zafar who supported him,' Azmi said.

'This country will run by the constitution, and I haven't said a word against Hindu brothers,' he added.

Earlier, Azmi reportedly said that Aurangzeb was not a 'cruel administrator' and 'built many temples'. He added that the battle between the Mughal emperor and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was for state administration and not about Hindu and Muslim.

This remark drew a lot of flak. Calling Azmi's reported remarks about Aurangzeb 'wrong and unacceptable,' Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said that he should be charged with 'treason.'

'His statement is wrong and should be condemned. Aurangzeb tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for 40 days; calling such a person good is the biggest sin, and hence, Abu Azmi should apologise. Our CM has taken this matter seriously. He should be charged with treason,' Shinde told reporters. (ANI)