Eknath Shinde's ‘Jai Gujarat’ at Amit Shah event fuels row over Marathi pride

Shinde's remark has led to a political row in Maharashtra with NCP (SP) leader Clyde Crasto targeting the deputy CM for being "greedy for power."

Published on: Jul 4, 2025, 18:06:47 IST

By Majid Alam

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Amid the ongoing controversy over the assault of a shopkeeper by MNS workers, Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Friday ended his speech with "Jai Gujarat" though after raising the slogan “Jai Maharashtra”.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. ( Praful Gangurde /HT photo)

Shinde, who was speaking at an event in Pune, lauded Home Minister Amit Shah and ended his speech with this sequence of slogans: “Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra, Jai Gujarat.”

Shinde's remark received flak from the opposition with NCP (SP) leader Clyde Crasto, who targeted the deputy CM accusing him of being “greedy for power” as Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi belong to Gujarat.

Also Read: CM Fadnavis on Marathi row: 'Won't tolerate hooliganism in the name of language'

But Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis defended Shinde. "Just because Shinde said ‘Jai Gujarat’, it doesn’t mean that Shinde loves Gujarat more than Maharashtra. Such parochial thinking doesn’t behove Marathi people,” Fadnavis told reporters.

The slogan row comes also after viral videos showed workers of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) thrashing shopkeepers in Mumbai for allegedly refusing to speak in Marathi.

Fadnavis, while responding to questions about that, said that Marathi should be respected, but beating anyone will not be tolerated. The chief minister, during a press conference, also said that "hooliganism" in the name of Marathi would not be tolerated.

Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, who is also a leader of Shinde's Shiv Sena, took a swipe at the MNS. "Does the MNS alone possess the right to fight for the Marathi language? If someone is taking law into their hands and targeting working-class individuals for political or financial gains, it will not be tolerated," Sarnaik said.

Also Read: Traders protest MNS slap politics in Mira Road

"We also take pride in being Marathi and in our Hindutva identity. We will not tolerate such incidents. Traders should not be threatened. I had asked the police to take action, and they have done so," he said.

The issue came to the fore ahead of coming civic elections after the BJP-led government sought to introduce Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools. That move was later withdrawn.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Majid Alam
Majid Alam is a Chief Content Producer working at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi. He currently heads shifts at online desk and manages homepage apart from writing, editing and curating articles. With over six years of experience in journalism, Majid has navigated national, politics and international news. His work primarily focuses on the politics of the Hindi heartland, government policies, and South Asia. He also writes on US and Europe’s policies vis-à-vis India. Before joining Hindustan Times, Majid worked at ABP LIVE as the Chief Copy Editor and at News18, where he managed the World and Explainers sections. His articles have featured in Dialogue Earth, The Quint, BMJ, The Diplomat, and Outlook India. Majid has a keen interest in the use of data for storytelling. Majid holds a Masters in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia. He was awarded the Erasmus+ scholarship to study International Affairs at Sciences Po, Paris in 2020. He is also part of the OCEANS Network, an alumni network of Erasmus+ exchange scholars. He is currently serving as the National Representative (India) at the OCEANS Network. Apart from journalism, Majid has a flair for academic writing and loves to teach. He has published a book chapter: 'Bombay Cinema and Postmodernism' in the book: 'Handbook of Research on Social and Cultural Dynamics in Indian Cinema.' He was also part of the OCEANS Network delegation to Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam in 2025. He has also given guest lecture in digital journalism at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.Read More

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