Maharashtra BJP minister issues fresh hate speech targeting Muslims!
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New Delhi: BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, who is known for his series of controversial and seriously problematic hate comments against Muslims, issued a fresh statement targeting the minority community on Thursday. Following the incident of a man getting beaten by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers for allegedly not speaking in Marathi, the BJP leader asked them if they had the courage to show their strength before Muslims, The Wire reported.
He asked the attackers whether “those who wear skull caps” speak the language.
News agency PTI quoted the minister, “A Hindu man was beaten up… Why are poor Hindus being assaulted? If you have the courage, try going to Null Bazaar or Mohamed Ali Road and show your strength there.”
Null Bazaar and Mohamed Ali Road are areas in South Mumbai where the majority of the population is Muslim.
Rane made the seriously problematic statement after a viral video on social media showed MNS workers beating a shopkeeper on the outskirts of Mumbai.
He asked whether “those with beards and skull caps” in Mohammed Ali Road speak pure Marathi. He asked if Javed Akhtar or Aamir Khan spoke the language. He claimed that MNS workers do not have the courage to make the mention of speaking the language but choose to assault poor Hindus instead.
Then, he spoke about the controversy over the Hindi language, claiming that the controversy was intended to divide Hindus.
He said that it was a conspiracy to turn the country into an Islamic state. There are attempts to reduce the number of Hindus in Mumbai through love jihad, land jihad and other tactics; the leader claimed and added that the MNS’s violence on the shopkeeper was a part of the attempt.
Last year, Rane made serious hate speech against Muslims in crude language, which incited violence in the Mira Bhayandar region in Mumbai. Hindutva rioters, chanting “Jai Shri Ram’ wreaked havoc after his speech, destroying Muslims’ shops and belongings in the region. Many Muslim youths were attacked and injured.