Her remarks, made in Chandrapur, placed her at odds with a demand by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, who has backed restrictions on Muslim participation in garba and dandiya events during the festival beginning on October 11.
Fadnavis said festivals should be celebrated within rules and without causing inconvenience to others, while faith and religious practice were personal matters. Asked about the controversy over Muslim participation in garba, she said that if people from any caste or religion wanted to enjoy or watch a festival peacefully, she saw nothing objectionable in it.
Her intervention came after the VHP asked Navratri organisers across Maharashtra to prevent Muslims from entering garba and dandiya venues. The organisation has also urged organisers to verify Aadhaar cards and use markers such as tilak to establish the Hindu identity of participants.
VHP national spokesperson and joint secretary Shriraj Nair said the group had decided not to allow Muslims to participate in garba-dandiya programmes, arguing that Navratri was centred on worship of the Hindu goddess and was not merely a dance event. The organisation has maintained that its proposed restrictions are intended to protect the religious character of the celebrations.
Rane, Maharashtra’s ports minister and a BJP leader, endorsed the VHP position and said identity checks should be stricter at Navratri events. He also suggested that those seeking entry should be asked to recite the Hanuman Chalisa, contending that Aadhaar verification alone would not be sufficient.
Rane said Muslims who did not practise idol worship should not participate in such Hindu religious celebrations. He also linked his support for restrictions to allegations of “love jihad”, a term used by some Hindu groups to claim that Muslim men enter relationships with Hindu women with the aim of religious conversion. No law defines “love jihad” as a specific offence, and courts have required allegations in individual cases to be supported by evidence.
The difference between Fadnavis’s comments and Rane’s position added a fresh political dimension to the dispute because both are closely associated with Maharashtra’s ruling political establishment, although Amruta Fadnavis does not hold public office.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut welcomed her position on Wednesday, saying he agreed that festivals should not exclude people on the basis of religion. Opposition parties had already criticised the VHP proposal as discriminatory and questioned the attempt to impose religious tests at public celebrations.
BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay has also supported keeping non-Hindus out of some garba events, adding to calls from within the ruling party’s wider political camp. Critics, including leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party and the Samajwadi Party, have argued that such restrictions run contrary to constitutional guarantees of equality and risk turning community festivals into tests of religious identity in public spaces.
The row has also drawn attention because the VHP’s position followed comments by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat stressing social unity and rejecting the idea that India should be without Muslims. The VHP, when asked about those remarks, declined to interpret Bhagwat’s statement and said it was not opposed to any community.
Navratri celebrations, particularly large garba and dandiya gatherings in Mumbai and other Maharashtra cities, are organised by a mix of religious bodies, community associations and commercial organisers. Entry conditions vary between venues, and the VHP’s appeal is not a government order.
No statewide notification has been issued by the Maharashtra government barring Muslims or other non-Hindus from Navratri events. The controversy therefore centres on demands by religious and political figures and on how individual organisers may respond to them.
Amruta Fadnavis also said public celebrations should follow rules on matters such as loud music and should not disturb society. Her comments came amid broader debate in Maharashtra over noise restrictions and conduct at religious festivals.
