BJP man's hate video portrays Muslims opposing Ganesh Chaturthi

Mumbai: BJP worker Manish Bhanushali has released an inflammatory social media video portraying Muslims as opposed to Hindu religious rituals surrounding Ganesh Chaturthi, while depicting confrontation and violence as a response to resistance against a Ganesh immersion procession, according to a report by Siasat.

In the video, Bhanushali appears dressed as a Muslim man in a white outfit, with a long beard and a Marathi cap. The character is shown objecting to a Ganesh visarjan procession passing through his locality and demanding that it be rerouted to another street.

The confrontation escalates into threats of violence; another character then attempts to attack Bhanushali but is overpowered. The sequence effectively constructs a communal narrative in which Muslims are presented as obstructing Hindu religious practices and Hindus as responding aggressively to such opposition.

The video was posted on Bhanushali’s Instagram account with a disclaimer stating it was for entertainment purposes. It claims that the creators respect all religions and communities and apologises if anyone’s religious or personal sentiments were hurt.

The disclaimer, however, does little to alter the video’s underlying message, which feeds into attempts in recent years by Hindutva groups to portray Muslims as antagonistic towards Hindu festivals.

Ganesh Chaturthi is among Maharashtra’s biggest Hindu festivals and has traditionally been marked by participation across religious communities, including visits to pandals and involvement in immersion processions.

Bhanushali previously attracted attention in 2021 after claiming that he had tipped off the Narcotics Control Bureau about a cruise party involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan. Aryan Khan was cleared of all drug charges in May 2022.