Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, March 2 Shaikh Asif, the founder of the ISLAM Party, said on Monday that a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would be built in Malegaon, a communally sensitive city in Nashik district dominated by Muslims.
Asif's ISLAM Party, which won 35 seats in the 84-member Malegaon Municipal Corporation, had subsequently seen its corporator, Sheikh Nasreen Khalid, become the mayor.
"We have decided to build a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malegaon. This decision was made during the very first meeting of the local government there. The necessary funds have also been allocated in the (local) budget. We are following the teachings of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as we are from the state of Maharashtra," he told the media here.
When asked about his visit earlier in the day to the grave of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Khultabad, Asif said that he had also visited a nearby mosque as it was the month of Ramzan, and he had prayed for peace and brotherhood.
"I don't want to get into historical details. I visited a mosque and a dargah before visiting Aurangzeb's grave. Political leaders will continue to engage in politics. I prayed because it is the holy month of Ramzan. I didn't visit the grave to gain sympathy from voters," Asif, the founder of the ISLAM Party, added.
Asif also criticised the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), his party's main rival in Malegaon, calling it the "B team of the BJP".
AIMIM had won 21 seats in the January 15 Malegaon civic elections, followed by 18 for the Shiv Sena, five for the SP, three for the Congress, and two for the BJP.
AIMIM and BJP make people fight among themselves, Asif said.
AIMIM gets votes in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar because people have no other option, he claimed.
"What has AIMIM done for the Muslim community in Maharashtra? Among our corporators in Malegaon, two are from the Maratha community and one is a Dalit," he added.