Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 17 (ANI): Reacting to the demands by Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal to remove Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's tomb, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that the tomb is a symbol of the bravery of Marathas, and future generations should know about it.

Sanjay Raut said, 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a brave warrior and he fought to establish Swarajya. Aurangzeb's tomb is there in Maharashtra but this memorial tells about the bravery of Marathas. The next generation should know how the Marathas fought against the Mughals. They could not gain victory over the Marathas and finally tomb was built. Now, people who do not have knowledge of history are asking to remove the tomb.'

He further said that the agitation should be on inflation and farmers who are dying by suicide.

'When the government is being run by RSS, then what is the need to protest? Issue a notification and remove the grave. Who has stopped PM Modi and CM Devendra Fadnavis from removing the tomb? They should stop this drama of protest. Even after the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb fought for 25 years but could not defeat the Marathas,' he added.

Earlier Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday said that they are 'distracting' people from real issues as the Mahayuti government has failed to address problems being faced by farmers and youth in Maharashtra.

'Now suddenly when the government is not performing, not talking sense and not addressing issues related to youth and farmers, they (Bajrang Dal and allied forces) are trying to distract people from the real issues,' Pawar told ANI.

Invoking the controversy sparked by controversial remarks against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Pawar alleged that many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have 'spoken against' Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule as well. He questioned the silence of Bajrang Dal and other Sangh Parivar organisations on this.

'There are many leaders of the BJP who have spoken against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule. That time, Bajrang Dal or associated agencies of the BJP were sleeping,' he added.

The NCP SP MLA further stated that Aurangzeb's grave in Maharashtra was indicative of how power can be reduced to a mere tomb. He said that the Mughal emperor with all his might could not capture one inch of land under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje.

'BJP and its allied associations always tried to change history. Aurangzeb could not capture an inch of land in the territory under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje. Even after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, soldiers, motivated by Shivaji's thoughts, never allowed him to capture any land. History should be protected so that even 200 years from now, people remember how power can be reduced to just a tomb,' Pawar added. (ANI)