Mumbai, July 6: Amid violence against Hindi-speaking people, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Sunday drew parallels between the Pahalgam terror attack and the beating of “Hindus” in Mumbai, which he said is condoned by some leaders.
In a veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray who reunited on Saturday at a joint rally for the cause of Marathi people, Shelar said the state is watching how some leaders are “enjoying other Hindus being beaten up”.
The senior BJP leader’s remarks come amid an outrage caused by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists thrashing a sweet shop owner in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for not speaking Marathi.
On Saturday, MNS workers damaged the glass door of Mumbai-based share market investor Sushil Kedia’s office in Worli after he declared he would not speak Marathi and dared the party chief Raj Thackeray.
The row over speaking Marathi is escalating into a major political flashpoint ahead of the civic polls.
“In the Pahalgam terror attack, people were asked about their religion (by terrorists) before shooting them. Here, people are being attacked based on their language, which is disappointing.
“The state is watching how these leaders are enjoying other Hindus being beaten up,” Shelar told reporters when asked about attacks on Hindi-speaking people allegedly by MNS workers.
Being the largest party in Maharashtra, the BJP would safeguard the pride of Marathi people and also protect non-Marathi residents, Shelar said.
“Marathi is not a political issue for us,” he added.
The Hindi language row erupted after the BJP-led Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution (GR) making the learning of the language compulsory in primary schools.
Amid the growing backlash from MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), the government amended the GR to make Hindi the “generally” third language before finally withdrawing both orders on June 29.
The issue of Marathi identity and the “imposition” of Hindi is believed to be a catalyst for reuniting Uddhav and Raj Thackeray after almost 20 years on Saturday at a joint “victory” rally to celebrate the government’s decision to scrap the GRs under the three-language policy.
With elections to the high-profile Mumbai civic body and other municipal corporations approaching, the BJP waded into the language row, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserting that those resorting to violence over the Hindi language will face legal action.
Addressing the joint rally, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray defended the Marathi pride, saying, We are goons if we have to do hooliganism for justice.
On his part, Raj Thackeray asked the MNS cadres not to attack anyone over the language without provocation.
BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane had objected to “Hindus” being targeted for not speaking in Marathi, while his cabinet colleague and Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik said the MNS doesn’t have monopoly over Marathi. (PTI)
