Maharashtra minister compares attacks on Hindi speakers to Pahalgam terror

Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Sunday compared recent attacks on Hindi-speaking individuals in the state to the Pahalgam terror attack while condemning the incidents.

Drawing a parallel between the two incidents, Shelar said, “In the Pahalgam terror attack, people were asked their religion before being shot. Here, people are being attacked based on their language. It is disappointing.”

His remarks came days after a video went viral showing workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) assaulting a shopkeeper in the Bhayandar area for allegedly refusing to speak in Marathi. The incident sparked political and social outrage. Police later detained seven MNS workers involved in the assault and released them after serving notices.

Shelar said that the BJP, as the largest party in Maharashtra, would defend both Marathi pride and the safety of non-Marathi residents. “Marathi is not a political issue for us,” he said, adding that the state was closely watching how some leaders were “enjoying” attacks on fellow Hindus without naming anyone specifically.

Earlier, BJP minister Nitesh Rane had also criticized the targeting of “Hindus” for not speaking Marathi, while Pratap Sarnaik of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena stated that the MNS had no monopoly over the Marathi language.

- Ends