Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitesh Rane on Thursday demanded that non-Hindus should not be allowed to set up shops at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Nashik, ANI reported.

The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha is a Hindu religious congregation held every 12 years in the district. The next congregation will begin in the district in October 2026. It is one of the four Kumbh Melas celebrated across the country.

Speaking to reporters in Nashik on Thursday, the state fisheries minister said that the Kumbh Mela is a festival of faith, The Times of India reported.

“All those who do not have faith in Hindu beliefs should not benefit from the mela,” Rane said. “The seers and the people, in general, should be aware of not entertaining such people during the fair.”

The BJP leader urged Hindus to be vigilant and not let people from outside the community set up shops and business using “Hindu-sounding names”.

Rane contended that this matter pertained to the sentiments of the Hindu community, ANI reported.

“When Eid and other such festivals come, no one ever buys anything from Hindus because they consider us ‘kaafir [unbelievers]’…,” the news agency quoted the state minister as saying.

The BJP leader has repeatedly made inflammatory statements targeting Muslims, leading to criticism from opposition leaders.

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 had again stirred a controversy after he asked why environmentalists and animal 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 too, 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.

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