Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, in an editorial in Saamana, wrote about his visit to Uzbekistan and went on to compare the Muslim population there with that in India.

The Saamana editorial has said, "There is a lot that our [Indian] Muslims can learn from Muslims in Uzbekistan."

The editorial further said, "90 per cent of the population in Uzbekistan is a Muslim, but no burqa [veil], beard, Muslim sherwani or lungi is seen there. Even being Muslims, these [Uzbek] people are of independent thoughts and equivocally secular. Here the population is less, but people are not lining up children to increase their population. They are not enemies of with other religions."

While suggesting Muslims in Uzbekistan are better, Sanjay Raut also said that there are no mosques and madrasas in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. "There are schools and universities which are modern. Uzbekistan is opening its door to the world to become a developed nation," he said.

Sanjay Raut said that to keep India-Uzbekistan friendship alive, there is a monument of Lal Bahadur Shastri and a road in his name in Tashkent. "Uzbekistan has not forgotten Babur. They celebrate his birthday across the country. But they are not upset with India for not looking at Babur with respect," he said.