Maharashtra BJP minister Ashish Shelar has said that the victims of both the Pahalgam terrorist assault in Jammu & Kashmir and the recent attacks on non-Marathi speaking migrants in Mumbai were "Hindus." People were murdered in Pahalgam due to their religious beliefs. The only reason Hindus are being attacked in Maharashtra is because of the language they speak. What makes a difference? Shelar stated during a Mumbai press conference. The statement coincides with increased tensions after several incidents in Mumbai where members of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) attacked migrant workers and shops for purportedly speaking Hindi rather than Marathi.
Shelar in press conference said, “In the Pahalgam terror attack, people were asked their religion before being shot. Here, people are being attacked based on their language. What is the difference?”
News agency ANI quotes him saying, “All these incidents cause pain, suffering, and mental distress…Such cases create a disturbance.” Without mentioning any specific individuals, the minister stated that the state is observing how these leaders are "enjoying" the beating up of other Hindus.
Ashish Shelar also spoke about the recent collaboration between former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin, who is chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena,Raj Thackeray. He referred to this move as an "opportunistic alliance". He said that without power, Uddhav cannot exist. He claimed that after failing to win the CM's seat, he abandoned the BJP and is now using all means to get a seat in the BMC.
Shelar asserted that the BJP would use “development politics,” and not “hatred” to safeguard the rights of both Hindi and Marathi speakers.
MNS Workers Attack People For Not Speaking Marathi:
A shopkeeper in the Bhayandar area outside the state capital was thrashed by members of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) last week for allegedly refusing to speak Marathi, according to a viral video. According to the report, seven MNS members were later taken into custody and released after receiving notices from the police.
In response to investor Sushil Kedia's social media post about not learning Marathi and his "kya karna hai bol" challenge to Raj Thackeray, five MNS supporters were detained on Saturday for attacking Kedia's office in Mumbai's Worli neighbourhood. Hours after the attack, Kedia expressed his appreciation for Thackeray and apologised for the social media post in which he claimed to have overreacted.
Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra, threatened to take severe legal action against anyone involved in "hooliganism" in the name of Marathi on Friday. Violence against regular people would not be tolerated by the Mahayuti government, he warned.
The political controversy surrounding the three-language policy, which made Hindi a "mandatory" third language for students in Classes 1 through 5 attending English and Marathi-medium schools, has reunited long-separated Thackeray cousins after almost 20 years, despite the Maharashtra government's April 16 orders on its implementation.
On Saturday, MNS head Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray took the stage together in a joint rally against the "Hindi imposition" at Mumbai's Worli Dome.