Maharashtra panel tracking intercaste, interfaith marriages: Who is Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the minister heading it?

Lodha is a firebrand and is also known to be a quiet man who prefers to operate silently behind the scenes. A former Mumbai BJP chief, he was at the centre of a controversy when he compared Shivaji’s escape from Agra with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s move to break away from the Shiv Sena. He withdrew his remarks following an Opposition backlash.

Lodha made it big in the real estate sector after founding Macrotech Developers (Lodha Group). He is one of the richest ministers in the state with declared assets worth Rs 441.65 crore. Originally from Rajasthan, the minister arrived in Mumbai in the 1980s after completing his BCom and LLB degrees from the University of Jodhpur and initially even practised law. His father Guman Lal Lodha was the chief justice of the Guwahati High Court.

Lodha contested the Assembly polls for the first time in 1995. He went on to rise through the BJP ranks and is a six-term MLA from the high-profile Malabar Hills constituency in Mumbai. The minister is outspoken about issues such as cattle slaughter and undocumented immigrants.

Lodha has alleged that Hindus face a threat in the Muslim-dominated Malvani area of Mumbai. During a state Assembly debate last year, he said, “There is a pattern to this Hindu exodus. They are being threatened and intimidated to leave their houses. A concerted attempt is being made to evict them. Just like Kashmir, Kairana witnessed the exodus of Hindus. Malvani in Mumbai is also witnessing the same.”

On cow slaughter, he said in the past, “There should be capital punishment for killers of cows and cattle. Cow slaughter should be punishable by death and beef export should be banned.”

During campaigning for the 2019 Assembly polls, the Election Commission served Lodha with a show-cause notice for making a communal statement. While campaigning in Mumbadevi, the BJP leader said, “The explosives used in the 1992 Mumbai riots were made in bylanes five km from here.” The Mumbadevi neighbourhood has a sizeable Muslim population.