No Muslim in India descendant of Aurangzeb: Maharashtra Deputy CM Fadnavis
says, nationalist Muslims don't recognise him as their leader
Akola, Jun 18: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said no Muslim in India is a descendant of Aurangzeb and nationalist Muslims in the country do no recognise the Mughal emperor as their leader.
He also hit out at Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar for visiting Aurangzeb's tomb in Aurangabad district and questioned Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray whether he approved his act.
Earlier this year, Thackeray and Ambedkar forged an alliance.
The VBA leader's visit to the tomb on Saturday took place against the backdrop of protests and clashes in parts of Maharashtra recently over social media posts glorifying Aurangzeb.
"What happened in Akola, Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur was not a coincidence, but it is an experiment. How come so many sympathisers of Aurangzeb surface in the state?" Fadnavis asked while addressing a public rally in Akola as part of completion of Narendra Modi government's nine years in office.
"How can Aurangzeb be our leader? Our king is only one and that is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj...The Muslims in India, even they are not descendants of Aurangzeb. Tell me who is the descendant of Aurangzeb? Aurangzeb and his forefathers came from outside," he said.
"The nationalist Muslims in this country do not endorse him and they recognise only Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their leader," he added.
Targeting Ambedkar for visiting Aurangzeb's tomb, Fadnavis asked him what was the need to do so.
"Ambedkar says Aurangzeb ruled our country for a long period. So Hitler also ruled Germany. Many people used to revere Hitler like a God...It was not expected from you. Uddhav Thackeray has allied with Ambedkar. So do you (Thackeray) accept Ambedkar's act?" he asked.
Who is creating the descendants of Aurangzeb in the state. Those who try to disturb the peace will be dealt with sternly, Fadnavis said.
Criticising Thackeray, the senior BJP leader said the Sena (UBT) president has borrowed "script writers" from his allies Congress and NCP as nobody seems to be left in his own faction to write speeches for him.
"But Uddhav ji, we know where and what is burning and how he feels. Whenever he is afraid of a leader, he claims that the latter is going to break Mumbai from Maharashtra. He keeps saying it all the time. But I can tell you one thing, nobody can break Mumbai from Maharashtra," he said.
"When Thackeray backstabbed the BJP and joined hands with Congress-NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, I had said that I will come back. I not only returned to power, but brought Eknath Shinde as CM along with me," he said.
Late Balasaheb Thackeray had once said that rather than joining hands with Congress and NCP, he would close down his party, Fadnavis said.
"But Uddhav ji kept his ideology aside and indulged in loose talk against PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he alleged.
He also taunted Thackeray saying those who sit at home all the time will never be able to understand the charisma of Modi and Shah.
Talking about the upcoming meeting of anti-BJP parties in Bihar, he said. "Several opposition leaders are going to share the stage in Patna on June 23. A photo of the same leaders taken in 2019 had 52 leaders but the main opposition party Congress could win only 48 seats. No matter how many creepers come together, it cannot be an alternative to a banyan tree."
PM Modi worked to give rights to the people's in the country. India was one of the only five countries in the world that produced anti-coronavirus vaccines. The PM sent these vaccines to 100 countries, Fadnavis said.
Farmers in Maharashtra are benefiting from several central government schemes like the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that in the last nine years, India became self-sufficient and PM Modi has emerged as the most popular leader in the world today.
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Win for villagers: 108 hectares of grazing land given to Adani to be taken back, Guj govt tells HC
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat government on Friday informed the High Court that it will take back nearly 108 hectares of 'gauchar' (grazing) land which was given to an Adani Group entity in 2005 near Mundra port in the state's Kutch district.
The decision by the government came 13 years after residents of Navinal village there moved the High Court through a Public Interest Litigation against a decision to allot 231 acres of gauchar land to Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd.
Though the state revenue department had made the allotment in 2005, the villagers came to know about it in 2010 when APSEZ started fencing the gauchar land it had got.
As per residents, the village was left with just 45 acres of grazing land following allotment of 231 out of 276 acres of such land to APSEZ. They also contended that the move was illegal since the village was already facing shortage of grazing land. Moreover, they claimed the land was a common one and a community resource.
In 2014, the High Court had disposed of the PIL after the state government said in its affidavit that the deputy collector had passed an order granting additional 387 hectares of government land for the purpose of grazing.
However, when it did not happen, a contempt petition was filed in the High Court. In 2015, the state government filed a review petition before the High Court contending that the available land for allocation to the panchayat is only 17 hectares.
The state government then proposed to allocate the remaining land nearly 7 kilometres away, which was not acceptable to villagers who said it was not possible for cattle to travel such a long distance.
In April 2024, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi directed the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department to come up with a solution.
On Friday, the ACS, through an affidavit, informed the bench that the state government has decided to take back nearly 108 hectares or 266 acres of gauchar land, which was earlier allocated to APSEZ.
The revenue department informed the court that the state government will "replenish" 129 hectares of land as gauchar and give it back to the village, for which it will use some of its own land and the 108 hectares being taken back from the Adani group firm.
The HC bench expressed satisfaction and directed the state government to implement this resolution.
The HC then adjourned the proceedings to July 7.
