Plaques of Aurangzeb should be removed, roads renamed: Agra mayor

Agra mayor Naveen Jindal on Wednesday said he, in the capacity of the national president of the mayor’s council, has appealed to all mayors to remove all plaques of Aurangzeb from all places. If there are roads named after Aurangzeb, those should be renamed, as there should not be any place for cruel ruler Aurangzeb in India, the mayor said to news agency ANI. “Aurangzeb was a cruel ruler who destroyed Hindu temples and also compelled people of the Hindu community to convert to Islam. There should not be any place for Aurangzeb in India,” Jain said.

Controversy erupts over Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to Aurangzeb’s tomb

The comment comes amid a row over AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s recent visit to Aurangzeb’s tomb in Aurangabad. Following the visit, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena questioned the need for the tomb and said it should be destroyed. After MNS leader Gajanan Kale’s tweet, some people in the Khultabad area, where the tomb is located, tried to lock the structure, which is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, the ASI authorities confirmed adding that additional security has been deployed at the tomb.

Last month, speaking on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur, PM Modi said Guru Tegh Bahadur stood like a rock against Aurangzeb’s tyranny. “The Red Fort is a witness that even though Aurangzeb severed many heads, he could not shake our faith,” PM Modi had said.

The Gyanvapi Mosque, cases regarding which are being heard by a Varanasi court and the Supreme Court, was also believed to be built by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Petitions claimed Aurangzeb demolished the Kashi Vishwanath temple built over two thousand years ago and built the mosque in its place.