Mumbai: Residents of Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar, the constituency of Samajwadi Party leader and Member of the Legislative Assembly, Abu Asim Azmi, said that his suspension from the assembly's budget session for his commendatory remarks about emperor Aurangzeb's administration is unfair and illegal.

Azmi stirred up a controversy when he praised Aurangzeb as an able administrator under whose regime the country prospered, boasting a quarter of the world's Gross Domestic Product or annual income.

However, coming after the success of 'Chhava', a film based on Chhatrapati Sambhaji who was tortured to death by Aurangzeb, the remarks created a political storm, with parties from both the major political blocs demanding punitive action against Azmi. Though Azmi apologised for the remarks, saying that he had merely quoted former IIT professor Ram Puniyani's observations on the Mughal emperor, the assembly passed a motion on Wednesday, suspending him.

Residents of Azmi's constituency said the MLA was not given a chance to defend himself. "I firmly believe in justice, democracy, and fair decision-making. While I have political and ideological differences with Azmi, his suspension from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is an undemocratic and unjust decision, which is unacceptable," said advocate Faiyaz Alam Shaikh, founder and convenor of Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum.

Azmi has called his suspension from the assembly unjust and biased because individuals who recently made allegedly derogatory remarks against Chhatrapati Shivaji and the Marathas have suffered no repercussions.

Dr Shamsuddin Tamboli from the Muslim Sathyashodak Mandal agreed that the action against Azmi was biased. "Former Maharashtra governor (Bhagat Singh) Koshiyari and Savarkar have made remarks about Shivaji and Sambhaji. They were not targeted. We are smelling something: the targets are Muslims," said Tamboli who added that Aurangzeb killed his brother, Dara Shikoh, who was a symbol of unity, and imprisoned his father.

"Aurangzeb was religious but was a fanatic. Historians say he was a simple person who stitched caps, but it was not enough," said Tamboli. "I am not a supporter of the Samajwadi Party. But the way the political atmosphere is being polluted is wrong. What about freedom of expression?" asked Tamboli.

Puniyani, who had made the remarks about Aurangzeb in an interview six years ago, said Aurangzeb's actions were not dictated totally by his religion. "He destroyed temples where rebels were hiding; he also destroyed a mosque in Golconda for similar reasons. A third of his administrators were Hindus," said Puniyani. "My concern is why are we giving so much importance to kingdoms when we are living in a democracy."

Azmi has received support from other political groups. Former MLA from AIMIM, Imtiaz Jaleel, said in a message on 'X': Whatever differences there may be between me and @abuasimazmi, I do not accept the action of his suspension from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. This is a completely undemocratic and illegal action taken by the government. Even the opposition was involved in this decision.

Shaikh, who wrote a letter to the government, said that Azmi and fellow Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh should move a motion in the Vidhan Sabha to revoke the suspension through a fair and democratic process.

"This decision is not just an attempt to suppress the voice of an elected representative but also a political strategy to divert attention from real issues, such as suppressing questions on development in the budget session, covering up the Dhananjay Munde controversy, and politically leveraging the release of the movie 'Chhaava'," said Shaikh who added that if the suspension is not revoked through the legislative process, they will file a writ petition to ensure justice.