Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP President known for his striking remarks on Hindutva and related politics, was recently seen posing with popular actors Salim Khan and Salman Khan. As the picture of the trio was posted online by the politician, it gathered several reactions. Uploading the image on X, he wrote that he was pleased to meet them over lunch and discuss their contributions in the field of social work.
Several reactions surfaced online, some commenting on the aging of Salman Khan and some praising the "excellent" click. Meanwhile, one couldn't unsee the replies revolved around the Hindutva angle.
Seeing Shelar in a friendly meeting and greeting session with actors from the religious minority, here, Muslims, internet users questioned why such displays mostly took place in the time of elections. Addressing this aspect, one of the comments on his X profile, read, "During the elections, love for Salman Khan and the rest of the day..." "Now, do you think Muslim people are good?" asked other taking a dig at the politician's recent post.
In the list of polarised comments, people continued criticising the BJP leader for his affectionate gesture towards the two Muslim celebrities and praising their works. The only thing that bothered people was why such photos and remarks about the community rolled out only during the polls and political events, and scenes of communal brotherhood were not displayed otherwise.
To the unversed, Ashish Shelar took a dig last year when Uddhav Thackery was seen joining hands with Samajwadi Party and said that the former CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) has compromised with the Hindutva ideology: "Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray lived by Hindutva ideology but today his son has compromised it." Also, Shelar had mentioned about staging a protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks concerning Hindutva ideologue late VD Savarkar.
People remembered these moments of Shelar when his recent post with Salim and Salman Khan surfaced online. This made netizens say, "Where did your Hindutva (ideology) go now? Don't you do politics according to your will?"
The article is based on an X post and the responses it has evoked. The publication and the author do not intend to side towards any particular community or political ideology.
