Amid the ongoing language row in Maharashtra, state minister Ashish Shelar drew a parallel with the gruesome April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed, with the recent attacks on people who could not speak Marathi in the state.
Ashish Shelar said that while in Pahalgam, people were killed on the basis of their religion, in Maharashtra, people were being attacked over linguistic differences, which he called disappointing, reported PTI.
He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in power in the state, would safeguard the Marathi pride while also protecting non-Marathi residents of the state.
"Marathi is not a political issue for us," PTI quoted him as saying.
"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," he said.
Without naming anyone, he added that the state is watching how these leaders are "enjoying" other Hindus being beaten up, the report said.
Shelar’s remarks come after a group of men wearing Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) scarves allegedly assaulted a shop owner for not speaking in Marathi earlier this week in Maharashtra’s Thane. The incident happened in the Bhayander area of Thane.
{{/usCountry}}Shelar’s remarks come after a group of men wearing Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) scarves allegedly assaulted a shop owner for not speaking in Marathi earlier this week in Maharashtra’s Thane. The incident happened in the Bhayander area of Thane.
{{/usCountry}}A video of the incident went viral on social media, showing the men visiting a shot to buy food. After the shop owner talked to them in Hindi, one of the men asked him, “which language is spoken in the state”, to which he got an “all languages” reply, reported PTI.
Irked by this response, the man and his other companions slapped the shop owner multiple times, who later filed an FIR.
Union minister backs Ashish Shelar
Backing Shelar’s remarks and the parallel he drew with the Pahalgam attack, union minister Ramdas Athawale told ANI, “Raj Thackeray’s men are repeating in Mumbai what happened in Pahalgam, it should be condemned.”
He also posed a question to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray that “if people from Hindu community are being attacked, would you sit quietly, do you not follow Balasaheb’s line of thinking?”
Talking about the recent reunion of the Thackeray cousins - Uddhav and Raj - Athawale said that the former should have joined them (BJP-led Mahayuti alliance). “What benefit do you have from reuniting with Raj Thackeray? Uddhav should have come with us. He will not gain anything by siding with Raj Thackeray.”