Maharashtra Fisheries Minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane on Wednesday accused Congress and other opposition parties of trying to spread anarchy in the country and bring in Sharia, the religious law of Islam, against the Hindu religion through “regime change.” He made the claim while addressing a ‘Yuva Shankhnad’ gathering organised by the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in the Mahal area of Nagpur.

Rane did not hedge. He said the country is facing a deliberate push to destroy Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, and he framed the entire political contest in starker terms than most ministers would use.

“Fight between the Constitution and Sharia”

“An attempt is currently underway to spread anarchy in the country and destroy Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution,” Rane said from the stage. He went further, calling the moment a “fight between the Constitution and Sharia.”

He named Rahul Gandhi directly. According to Rane, Gandhi and members of the INDIA bloc are demanding regime change, and their motive is to create anarchy in a democratic country and finish the Constitution.

Ghazwa-e-Hind and the 2047 claim

The most incendiary part of the speech was the timeline. Rane alleged that, under the banner of Ghazwa-e-Hind, the opposition is trying to turn India into an Islamic nation by 2047.

The claim is a serious accusation against a major national party and its allies. It was made at a youth wing rally, with no further detail in the report on how the alleged plan would work or what evidence Rane cited.

A jab at the Thackerays

Rane also turned his fire on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and party MLA Aaditya Thackeray. He said they want a change of regime, but added a line designed to draw laughs and headlines: “bringing down a government is not as easy as running a vada pav stall.”

The jibe pushed the speech from constitutional warnings into direct political mockery, aimed at the Opposition leaders who sit closest to his own party’s rivals in Maharashtra.

The Aurangzeb post and the Pakistan remark

Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Rane attacked AIMIM’s Mumbra corporator Sahar Sheikh over a purported Instagram post about Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He said she had been given a task of “turning Maharashtra green.”

“If she feels such a strong affinity for Aurangzeb, she should leave for Pakistan with her father,” he said. He added that Sheikh might have forgotten she was elected in a Hindu nation.

Rane then invoked Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who he said defeated the Mughals and established Hindavi Swarajya. “This is the land of Lord Shiva and of Hindus. It is not Pakistan of anyone’s father,” he said. He then added a threat that the report carried in full: “Otherwise, we know very well how to send such ‘parcels’ to Pakistan.”

Sheikh had purportedly written that “they want to erase the Mughal history from books,” asking how they can wipe out history from the land. Rane’s response turned that question into a challenge to her place in Maharashtra’s politics.

Electoral rolls and the SIR

Rane tied the controversy to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In his view, the exercise is necessary to ensure that no Pakistani or Bangladeshi can come here and vote.

The link between citizenship, voting rights and the speech’s religious framing is the thread that makes the remarks politically combustible. The report does not include any response from the people or parties Rane named.

Kumbh Mela, Haj and Rohit Pawar

When asked about NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar’s claim about huge spending for the Kumbh Mela, Rane questioned why Pawar never speaks about the Haj pilgrimage and related irregularities. “Rohit Pawar says nothing when people create a disturbance in localities during Ramadan. Has he been given a contract to oppose and criticise only Hindu festivals? His stand is limited to only Kumbh Mela,” he said.

The comparison set Hindu and Muslim religious events against each other, a framing that is likely to keep the row alive well beyond the Nagpur gathering.

A softer note on Sharad Pawar and Modi

Rane closed his media remarks with praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he said enquired about NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s health over the phone. “PM Modi’s ability to maintain relationships beyond politics is an example of magnanimity,” Rane said.

The contrast is stark. A speech warning of a plot to end the Constitution and install Islamic rule ended with a tribute to cross-party courtesy. That juxtaposition is likely to be the detail that sticks with political observers in Maharashtra.

What happens next depends on how the opposition responds, and the source material does not yet say. For now, the accusation stands as a direct charge from a sitting state minister, delivered to a youth wing crowd and repeated to reporters, that the INDIA bloc is working toward regime change in the name of Sharia.