At the Hindu Rakshak Award ceremony, BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar demonised Muslims, claiming they broke temples in the past and still have a “Mughal mentality” that must be “removed”. He also targeted Christians, asking, “Why do these people keep trying to convert Hindus?” Padalkar promised an anti-conversion law that would deny reservations to SC, ST, and OBC Hindus who leave Hinduism. He spread fearmongering about the conspiracies of ‘love jihad’ and alleged Bangladeshi and Rohingya “infiltrators”.