The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Tuesday said government money should not be spent on the maintenance of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, a demand coming amid right-wing outfits' push for its removal.
A memorandum listing five demands related to the tomb, an Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument located in Khultabad in central Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, was submitted to collector Dileep Swami by a local delegation of the Raj Thackeray-led party.
A board with the message, "We, Marathas, have buried Aurangzeb here who came to finish us" should be installed at the site, said the MNS.
According to the memorandum, any decoration done near the tomb should be removed and the area housing the structure should be under CCTV surveillance. Also, government money should not be spent on maintenance of the structure.
The party said students of schools in the district should be sent on study tours of the tomb so that they know the history associated with the controversial medieval-era Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1658 to 1707.
The MNS's memorandum comes amid demand by right-wing outfits to remove Aurangazeb's tomb.
On Monday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said whether people like the Mughal emperor or not, his tomb is a protected monument, but his glorification will not be allowed.
Addressing his annual Gudi Padwa rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Sunday, MNS president Raj Thackeray slammed attempts to incite communal tension over Aurangzeb's tomb and said history shouldn't be viewed through the prism of caste and religion.
He asked people not to rely on WhatsApp forwards for historical information.
The Mughal ruler wanted to "kill a thought called Shivaji" but failed and died in Maharashtra, asserted Thackeray.
© 2025