‘These people come to Maharashtra and...': Sharad Pawar slams Owaisi over Aurangzeb tomb visit

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's comment against AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi comes after the latter visited the tomb of Aurangzeb before addressing a rally in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, on Thursday (May 12). Both Shiv Sena and MNS have cried foul at Owaisi's visit to the Mughal emperor's tomb.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday lashed out at AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi over the latter's visit to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Pawar said the visit was done with the aim to “create a new controversy” in the western state “which is functioning peacefully”. “These people know the history of Maharashtra and India. What Aurangzeb did in his era is also known. It is not right for someone from outside Maharashtra to come to the state and create a new issue,” the NCP chief was quoted as saying news agency PTI.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. (PTI file photo)

Pawar further stated the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, comprising NCP, Shiv Sena and the Congress party, are “running properly” and that he was satisfied with its performance.

When asked if the MVA regime will successfully complete its five-year term in the western state, the NCP supremo said there should not be any problem in the alliance “getting a mandate for another five years as well after its current…stint gets over", the PTI report added.

Pawar's jibe against Owaisi comes after the AIMIM leader visited the tomb of Aurangzeb before addressing a rally in Aurangabad on Thursday (May 12). Both the Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirmal Sena (MNS) headed by Thackeray's estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, have cried foul at Owaisi's visit to the tomb.

Sena leader and former Lok Sabha MP Chandrakant Khaire said that the AIMIM leader's visit to the tomb was a move to trigger communal tensions in Maharashtra. “Nobody visits the burial site of Aurangzeb now, not even Muslims…AIMIM’s actions are like Aurangzeb, and therefore I wish to tell the people of Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) and Marathwada that the Hyderabad based party wants to spread its base here to create a rift between the communities," he added.

Meanwhile, during his address at Aurangabad rally, Owaisi - who is the younger brother of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, made a veiled attack at the Sena. “Let the dogs bark... lions move on by ignoring them...don't fall into their trap... whatever they say, just smile and keep doing your work,” the AIMIM leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.