Amruta Fadnavis bats for inclusive festivals amid Nitesh Rane’s remarks on Muslims

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's call to keep Muslims out of Navratri celebrations in Maharashtra has run into criticism from unexpected quarters, with Amruta Fadnavis, wife of the Chief Minister, disagreeing with the stand take by the group.

Speaking to reporters in Chandrapur in Maharashtra, Amruta Fadnavis said, "He must have said this after thinking something; I do not want to get into its depths. But I would want to say that Garba is a national celebration and it is even celebrated internationally, so if anyone from any community or faith wants to come and see this peacefully without creating any chaos, I think that is alright. But I haven't studied what other reasons there are behind it."

She was responding to the VHP's recent announcement that Muslims would not be permitted to take part in garba and dandiya events across the state during the upcoming Navratri festival, which kicks off on October 11. The organisation has gone a step further, asking event organisers to verify participants' Hindu identity through Aadhaar checks and tilak application.