Aurangzeb row: Akhilesh Yadav questions basis of SP MLA Azmi's suspension, says truth can't be silenced

In a social media post, the SP chief said if the basis of suspension is influenced by one's ideology, then the concept of freedom of expression would lose its meaning.

Lucknow: With Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly over his comments praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party MLAs and MPs have unmatched courage and wisdom and such action will not deter them from speaking the truth.

He also hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who demanded that the SP must expel Azmi and send him to UP where "we will get his treatment done".

"Those who see a threat to their chair are losing their minds. How can the one who is sick cure others," Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X without naming anyone.

In another post, the SP chief said if the basis of suspension is influenced by one's ideology, then the concept of freedom of expression would lose its meaning.

"If some people think that by ‘suspension’ they can silence the truth, then it reflects their childish and negative thinking," the Lok Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

"Today the free-thinkers say, we don't want the BJP!" Yadav said in a post on X that was shortly followed by Adityanath's demand for the expulsion of Azmi from the Samajwadi Party.

Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly till the end of the ongoing Budget Session over his remarks "eulogising" Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

During his discussion on the budget 2025-26 in the UP Legislative Council, Adityanath asked the SP to clear its stand on Azmi.

"You (SP) must decide your position (on Abu Azmi)," Adityanath said in the Legislative Council. As SP members objected, the CM said, "Make an official announcement and expel that wretched person from your party. Then send him to Uttar Pradesh, and we will get his treatment done." Continuing his attack, Adityanath said, "A person who feels ashamed of the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but considers Aurangzeb his hero -- does he even have the right to live in India?" Azmi, president of the Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit, said that the action against him was unwarranted as he had retracted his remarks. He maintained that whatever he had said was already noted by historians and asserted he had done nothing wrong.