09 September,2026 09:13 AM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut backed Amruta Fadnavis` stand on inclusive festival celebrations. File pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday backed Amruta Fadnavis for her stand that festivals should be inclusive and that there was nothing wrong with Muslims participating in celebrations.
The remarks came after the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) announced that Muslims would not be allowed to enter garba and dandiya venues across Maharashtra during Navratri, beginning October 11. BJP minister Nitesh Rane has supported the VHP's position.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Raut said, "I welcome Amruta Fadnavis's stand that Muslim women should be allowed to participate in garba. But she should counsel the neo-Hindutva people in the chief minister's cabinet."
Rane had alleged that "love jihad" cases increase during such festivals and said people who do not follow idol worship should not participate in Hindu religious events. Responding to his remarks, Amruta Fadnavis had said, "If a Muslim person also comes there and enjoys the festival properly, I do not see anything wrong in it."
Raut said Muslims had played an important role in various struggles, including the movement for a united Maharashtra and India's independence. He also cited poet Amar Sheikh and others who, he claimed, sacrificed for the formation of Maharashtra.
He said Amruta Fadnavis should counsel "Devendra Fadnavis's beloved neo-Hindutva followers" as well as the chief minister himself.
On the legal dispute over the bow-and-arrow election symbol, Raut claimed that the symbol originally belonged to Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena and alleged that it was taken away through the Election Commission.
"These people schemed and, through the Election Commission, stole this symbol," he said, referring to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Raut alleged that Shinde's lawyers were attempting to delay the matter, while claiming that his party had submitted its arguments and contentions on time.
He also backed Uddhav Thackeray's demand for a quick decision on the symbol, saying his party had contested the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections using what he described as a "stolen bow-and-arrow symbol".
Raut also accused the Maharashtra government of wanting to "kill" Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, whose indefinite strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district entered its 12th day on Wednesday.
"The government wants to kill Jarange. His fight and struggle has become a noose around the government''s neck. His utility is over for the government, which used his struggle and indefinite hunger strikes for its own benefit during the polls. It has now left him in the lurch," Raut claimed.
He called on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to hold discussions with leaders from all parties to find a solution to the Maratha reservation issue.
Jarange had on Tuesday accused Fadnavis and minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of deceiving the Maratha community over the reservation issue for more than a year. As his health deteriorated, he accepted IV fluids, while Vikhe Patil urged him to acknowledge the government's decisions on his demands.
Raut also questioned the appointment of Maharashtra Minorities Commission chief Pyare Khan after reports that Khan had met gangster Abu Salem in prison in Nashik.
"Wasn''t it this government? Wasn''t it the Fadnavis government? Therefore, this question should be asked of Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state unit president Ravindra Chavan, or the so-called Hindutva people working in their party," Raut said.
He also questioned the government's position on whether Muslims should be allowed to attend Navratri celebrations.
(With inputs from PTI)
