Ashish Shelar equates Pahalgam attack with Mumbai’s anti-Hindi violence

Mumbai: 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 in a veiled attack on the reunion of the Thackeray cousins.

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.

With MNS resorting to street-fighting over Marathi, actor and singer Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, has dared the Thackeray cousins to drive him out of Maharashtra for speaking in Bhojpuri.

"I am giving an open challenge. I do not speak Marathi. I speak Bhojpuri, and I am staying in Maharashtra. Why are you driving poor people out? If you have the courage then drive me out. I am giving you a challenge, even in Mumbai," he told reporters.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared a stage after nearly 20 years for the cause of the Marathi language and vowed to oppose the “imposition” of Hindi in Maharashtra after the state government rolled back the GRs on the introduction of Hindi as a third language in primary schools.

Slamming the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the coming together of the Thackerays has unnerved ruling Mahayuti leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Targeting Fadnavis who had claimed that Uddhav Thackeray delivered a “rudali” (professional mourner) like speech at the joint rally, Raut said, “Fadnavis and (Deputy CM Eknath) Shinde should start a weeping programme now (with the two Thackeray brothers coming together)”.

After the rally, Raut said, leaders from several south Indian states, particularly Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, have asserted that they can fight the Centre and “overthrow the imposition of Hindi".

As the row over true custodians of Marathi escalated, Shiv Sena MLA and Maharashtra minister Pratap Sarnaik on Sunday credited Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for giving justice to Marathi manoos and ensuring classical language status for the Marathi language by following up with the Centre.

In a letter to Shinde, Sarnaik stated that people are wise to understand that the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS have come together to win power in the Mumbai civic body and not in the interest of Marathi.

He said the Sena (undivided) controlled the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for 25 years and during this period, the Marathi manoos was driven out of the hotel industry, real estate, and gold and silver jewellery shops.

"People are wise enough to know that they (Sena UBT and MNS) have come to win power in the BMC. Their (the Sena UBT's) soul is stuck in the coffers of the BMC. UBT's politics has been very selfish, fake and treacherous. Which is why UBT's colleagues are abandoning the party," Sarnaik said.

"The MNS and the Sena (UBT) keep saying that they have come together in the interest of Marathi. So, for whose interest did they separate years ago? There is no love for Marathi, its culture and language, and Marathi manoos," he added.

Shelar, meanwhile, said the attacks on Hindi-speaking people allegedly by MNS workers were disappointing and asserted "Marathi is not a political issue for us." He said the Shiv Sena (UBT) and its allies would perform poorly in the upcoming civic elections.

"Compared to the previous elections, they will win fewer seats. They are going to lose," he added.