New Delhi, March 6: Congress leader Udit Raj on Thursday claimed that Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was not wrong in extending support to its Maharashtra MLC Abu Azmi.

The Congress leader made the remark while speaking to media on various issues including Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), India’s foreign policy, Article 370, and Bihar politics.

Substantiating Akhilesh Yadav’s support to Abu Azmi who glorified Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, Udit Raj claimed that in the Peshwa Empire, the plight of Dalits and women was miserable.

Claiming that Muslims used to fight for Chhatrapati Shivaji and Hindus used to fight for emperor Aurangzeb, he said singling out any ruler of a specific community is not right.

Dwelling on External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent statement in London that Pakistan will have to return PoK and revocation of Article 370 was the first step in that direction, Udit Raj said that the leader’s remark was not completely right.

Denying the positive changes in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “When Article 370 was revoked, it was said that the move would break the backbone of terrorism and attract investment in Jammu and Kashmir leading to its development. However, nothing happened.”

Dwelling on the border dispute between India and China over Aksai Chin, Udit Raj further said, “Union Home Minister Amit Shah used to say will ‘sacrifice life for Aksai Chin’. But nothing happened and China developed roads on it.”

Claiming that the country’s international diplomacy has failed, Udit Raj said: “In Canada and Scotland, our ambassadors were attacked. A gangster in Sabarmati jail is conversing with people in Pakistan. Now, Khalistani extremists breached security and tried to attack Jaishankar.”

Blaming the BJP for the JD(U)’s reducing strength in the House, the Congress leader said: “The JD(U) earlier had 120 seats in the Legislative Assembly but this number now has been slashed to 45.”

Claiming that the BJP strengthened the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and weakened JD(U), he said that the Nitish Kumar-led party will soon meet the same fate as the Akali Dal in Punjab.

Dwelling on reports that the new Delhi government has fixed the criteria that women who have an annual income of less than Rs 3 lakh will get the benefits of the Mahila Samriddhi Scheme, Udit Raj said the BJP had promised to provide the financial aid on March 8.

He said: “We will adopt a wait-and-watch approach on the government’s move till March 8.”

Mumbai: Four police constables attached to Dharavi Police Station were suspended on Thursday after a video of them allegedly accepting bribes from hawkers surfaced on social media.

According to officials, the suspended constables were deployed as beat marshals on patrolling vehicles, responsible for taking action against illegal roadside eateries and food stalls. However, instead of enforcing the law, they were caught on camera extorting money from hawkers.

Following the video’s viral spread, senior police officials initiated an internal inquiry and ordered their immediate suspension.

Mumbai: After being suspended for the entire duration of the ongoing Maharashtra budget session over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi called the suspension “arbitrary” and alleged threats to his life and his family.

Azmi took to the social media platform X to express his concerns, stating, “My suspension is arbitrary on the part of the government, there is a threat to my life and that of my family. Two laws are in force in Maharashtra, if democracy has ended in Maharashtra then the government can do anything to the public and the elected representatives of the public.”

Ahead of this he has expressed his disappointment over the suspension and had said, “To ensure that the House functions, I spoke about withdrawing my statement. I did not say anything wrong. Still, there is a controversy and proceedings of the House are being stalled. To ensure that the House functions and some work is done during Budget Session…I withdrew the statement that I made outside the Assembly, not in the House. Still, I have been suspended.”

Azmi also received the support of Samjawadi Party Chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, who claimed that the suspension violated freedom of expression.

“If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will there be between freedom of expression and subjection? Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by ‘suspension’ one can rein them in, then this is the childishness of their negative thinking,” Akhilesh Yadav said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session on Wednesday over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

A proposal was brought in the Maharashtra Assembly today against Azmi’s remarks.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said in the House that Azmi’s objectionable statement had hurt the dignity of the House, leading to the proposal to suspend his membership for this session, which the Speaker passed. Azmi had 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.