Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane on Sunday called Kerala “mini-Pakistan” and said that “all terrorists” vote for Congress leaders.

“Kerala is a mini-Pakistan…” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said at an event in Pune’s Purandar tehsil. “That is why Rahul Gandhi and his sister are elected from there. All terrorists vote for them. This is the truth, you can ask. They have become MPs after taking terrorists with them.”

Rane was referring to the re-election of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the election of party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the November bye-polls in the constituency.

The Opposition criticised Rane for his remark on Monday, asking if he deserved to be retained in the state Cabinet.

“Nitesh Rane became the minister in Maharashtra by swearing to keep the unity and integrity of the country intact,” Congress’ state Spokesperson Atul Londhe told ANI. “But this minister is terming Kerala as Pakistan and terms the voters of the Opposition as terrorists. Does this person have a right to remain in the Cabinet?”

Rane’s remark was a disgrace for Maharashtra, Londhe said. “The BJP and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should come out and clarify their stand on the issue,” he added.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, the former Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said that the state ministers must “learn to respect” the position they hold. “This language is not only an insult to a state but also an attack on the unity of India,” Wadettiwar said.

The Congress leader asked what the Union government was doing as leaders of the state’s ruling Mahayuti party were repeatedly “making provocative statements that create hatred in the society”.

The Mahayuti coalition comprises the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that the remark by Rane was “deeply malicious”.

“Such rhetoric reflects the hate campaigns orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar against Kerala, a bastion of secularism and communal harmony,” Vijayan said on social media. “We strongly denounce this vile attack on Kerala, and call upon all democratic and secular forces to unite against Sangh Parivar’s hateful propaganda.”

Following the Congress’ criticism of his comment, the state fisheries and ports minister told ANI on Monday that he had only sought to highlight the religious conversion of Hindus and “love jihad” in the southern state.

“Love jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men lure Hindu women into romantic relationships in order to convert them to Islam through marriage. The Union Home Ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.

Rane said: “Kerala is very much a part of our country. The declining population of Hindus is something that everyone should worry about. Religious conversion of Hindus into Christians and Muslims is becoming a daily occurrence there. Love jihad cases are also increasing there…”

Defending himself, the Kankavli MLA said that he was “comparing the situation with the way Hindus are treated” in Pakistan.

“I said what even the local BJP leadership is saying, and anyone can check who are the people and the organisations supporting them [Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra] there,” Rane said. “Can the Congress come out and say that we are wrong and there is not a single terrorist organisation that supports them in the elections? Let them say that, then we will give more proof.”

Nitesh Rane, the son of Union minister Narayan Rane, is facing cases relating to alleged hate speech.

Vadra, in her electoral debut, won the bye-election in Wayanad in November. The bye-poll was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi, who had won the Wayanad and the Rae Bareli seats in the general election, had to retain just one of the constituencies as per the Representation of the People Act.