AIMIM leader Syeda Falak slammed the renaming of Aurangabad during an assembly of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). While addressing the decision of the government which retitled “Aurangabad” as “Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar”, Syeda criticized the politics of “abhorrence and attempts to distort history and legacy of the city.” Her response to the right-wing regime has stirred up arguments through direct questions and pointy annotations.
“You belong to the city of Aurangabad where we have ruled! They play the diplomatic games of politics between the names of Sambhaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb. But who was Sambhaji?” she said during the address.
“Go, read history! Who reinvigorated the barren city of Khadki? It was Malik Ambar! How would you change this history? How did you dare to rename Aurangabad?” Syeda Falak addressed the citizens who cherished her speech.
Appeal For “Ittehad”
Syeda Falak also requested the public to vote for Syed Imtiaz Jaleel after marking the unfair resolutions of the government.
Appealing to the Muslim community, she said that if they elect 50 Muslim MPs from the party, nobody can dare to bring a law against them or think about smashing down their fundamental rights.
“Today the NDA government is in power due to 14 MPs of Chandra Babu Naidu and 12 MPs of Nitish Kumar. We (Muslims) need to come up with bravery to confront miserable situations! Cowardice and slavery would not work here!”
“Anjam-e-wafa kya hoga socha nahin karte, Momin kabhi halaat se sauda nahin karte”, (We must not think about the consequences of loyalty, because Muslims don’t bargain with the circumstances), she also recited a couplet to motivate the masses.
During the election campaigns, the “Karate Champion” politician Syeda Falak has persistently been invoking the message of unity to beat the hate.
“When the Waqf Amendment Bill was presented in parliament, 9 MPs from UBT Sena ran away in a rush. They disappear whenever we need them. They only come to take our votes,” Syeda said.
Conspiracy Theories To Justify Communal Steps
In response, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis targeted Owaisi in a rally and spoke to infuse “Maratha pride” among his supporters.
“Mahayuti alliance renamed the city on the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, nobody can change it!” he said in a rally while repeating Yogi Adityanath’s slogan “bantenge to katenge”.
In September 2023, the names of two districts “Aurangabad” and “Osmanabad” were changed to “Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar” and “Dharashiv” by the Maharashtra government. Some minority activists also filed petitions to stop this but all such endeavours were dismissed.
The renaming of these cities in Maharashtra has been perceived as a detestable demand of right-wing parties and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray who wanted to establish a “Brahminical regime” across the state.
