A complaint has been filed against Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitesh Rane for alleged hate speech at a procession for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami in Mumbai’s Malvani area, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
A resident, Shanul Syed, filed the complaint at the Malvani police station on Friday, alleging that a speech Rane delivered in the area a day earlier was “provocative, inflammatory and hurtful to Muslims”.
Videos on social media show Rane addressing the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, saying that anyone who looked at the saffron flag with ill intent would have their eyes gouged out and that he would “play marbles” with them, the newspaper reported.
Rane’s remarks came against the backdrop of tensions after members of the Hindu community attempted to hoist a saffron flag near a mosque in the area. This had allegedly led to a clash on Wednesday night. A video of the clash was widely circulated on social media.
During his speech on Ram Navami, the BJP leader also said that “some people might have forgotten that this is a Hindu Rashtra [Hindu nation]”, Siasat Daily reported.
He added: “This is not anyone’s father’s Pakistan.”
The BJP leader has repeatedly made inflammatory statements targeting Muslims.
In November, Rane had demanded that non-Hindus should not be allowed to set up shops at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Nashik
In July, Rane claimed that the Opposition should ask Muslims to teach Marathi in madrasas and recite the azaan in the language instead of Urdu, adding that “otherwise, all you get from there is a gun”. The azaan, the Muslim call to prayer, is traditionally recited in Arabic, not Urdu.
In June, the BJP leader stirred a controversy after he asked why environmentalists and animal rights activists were not appealing for Bakri Eid to be celebrated “virtually”. Rane claimed that activists “selectively” and only targeted Hindu festivals like Holi and Diwali.
Bakri Eid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, is a Muslim festival that commemorates the spirit of sacrifice. The festival entails the slaughtering of livestock.
At the time, Maharashtra Minority Commission chairperson Pyare Khan had claimed that Rane was making remarks by quoting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ name, which was “not right”. He accused the minister of sowing divisions and targeting Indian Muslims in the name of Pakistan.
In April 2025, Khan had accused Rane of repeatedly engaging in hate speech. His comments came after Rane allegedly urged Hindus to inquire about the religion of shopkeepers before making purchases.
In his complaint on Friday, Syed also referred to previous cases filed against Rane for similar remarks, noting that multiple FIRs had been registered against him in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in recent years.
Of the 12 FIRs registered in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five were filed in 2024 alone, including two at the Malvani police station, the Hindustan Times reported.
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