In the midst of the political conflict regarding the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s accusations of Hindi imposition, Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar on Sunday drew a parallel between the suffering caused by the Pahalgam terror attack, where Hindus were murdered under the guise of religion, and the violence faced by individuals being “assaulted” due to their language.

He expressed that these events were troubling for him.  “All these occurrences lead to pain, anguish, and psychological distress. In Pahalgam, they were shot after inquiring about their religion. Here, innocent Hindus are assaulted simply for the language they use. Such incidents create unrest,” Shelar remarked.

His comments followed reports of violence and vandalism in the state amid the ongoing Hindi-Marathi dispute.

On Saturday, police reported the arrest of five Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers in connection with the vandalism at entrepreneur Sushil Kedia’s office in Worli. A case has been filed against them under Sections 223, 189(2), 189(3), 190, 191(2), 191(3), and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Kedia, who found himself embroiled in the language controversy in Maharashtra due to his recent comments about MNS and its leader Raj Thackeray, admitted that he spoke too quickly and has since recognized his error. In another incident, a viral video showed a group of men allegedly linked to a regional party assaulting a shop owner for not communicating in Marathi.

This incident took place in the Mira-Bhayandar area near Mumbai. On Friday, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis cautioned that strict legal measures would be taken against those participating in “hooliganism” under the pretext of Marathi. He stated that the Mahayuti government will not accept violence against ordinary citizens.

Despite the Maharashtra government’s retraction of its April 16 orders regarding the three-language policy, which designated Hindi as a “mandatory” third language for students in Classes 1 to 5 attending English and Marathi medium schools, the ensuing political controversy has reunited the long-estranged Thackeray cousins after almost twenty years.

On Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS leader Raj Thackeray appeared together on stage at the Worli Dome in Mumbai, where they conducted a joint rally to protest against the “imposition of Hindi.”