Maharashtra BJP leader and cabinet minister Ashish Shelar sparked a fresh political controversy on Sunday by drawing a provocative parallel between the recent attacks on non-Marathi speakers in Mumbai and the April Pahalgam terror massacre in Jammu & Kashmir, where 26 people were killed.
Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Shelar said, “In Pahalgam, people were killed because of their religion. Here in Maharashtra, Hindus are being assaulted only because of the language they speak. What’s the difference?”
His statement came in the wake of multiple incidents of violence allegedly carried out by workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who targeted migrant workers and shopkeepers for conversing in Hindi instead of Marathi. The attacks have triggered widespread concern about rising linguistic intolerance in the financial capital.
Shelar condemned the attacks as “unacceptable” and claimed that such actions harm Maharashtra’s inclusive identity. He also took aim at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, referring to their recent show of unity as an “opportunistic alliance.”
“Uddhav Thackeray left the BJP when he didn’t get the CM’s chair. Now, he is eyeing control of the BMC and has joined hands with his cousin, who earlier accused him of betrayal,” Shelar said. He accused both leaders of trying to stir identity-based politics for electoral gains.
The BJP leader insisted that his party would continue to safeguard the rights of both Marathi speakers and migrants through what he called “development-oriented politics, not hate-based narratives.”
The comparison to the Pahalgam massacre—a terrorist incident in which Hindus were targeted—has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accused Shelar of politicising a sensitive issue.
As tensions simmer in Mumbai and political rhetoric intensifies ahead of the upcoming civic elections, Shelar’s remarks are expected to add fuel to an already volatile debate around language, identity, and communal harmony in Maharashtra.
