Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who heads the state Home Ministry, called it wrong to brand Mumbai as an “unsafe” city for the attack on Hindi film actor Saif Ali Khan.

Reacting to the comments of Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties on the law and order situation in the city in the wake of the stabbing of the actor, he said, “Mumbai is the safest mega city in the country. The incident is serious but it is wrong to brand the city as unsafe. The incident must be taken seriously and the government will take steps to make Mumbai safer,” Fadnavis said.

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Earlier on Thursday, practically all MVA parties unleashed a volley of statements criticising Fadnavis and the poor law and situation in Mumbai as well as Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole stated that the attack on Saif Ali Khan has exposed the “breakdown” of law and order in Maharashtra. Leave alone citizens, even ruling party leaders are not safe, he said referring to the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

Demanding the resignation of Fadnavis as chief minister, Patole called him “weak” and “ineffective”. He said the rising crime graph in Maharashtra is a reflection on the failure of the Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government. “The chief minister must have the courage to take concrete action instead of making hollow statements,” Patole said.

“A popular Padma Shri award-winning actor (Saif Ali Khan) who lives in a high-profile society in a safe area like Bandra has got stabbed. Someone entered his house and stabbed him and left. What a horrific incident! The law and order situation in Maharashtra is deteriorating day by day. A politician called Baba Siddique is shot dead in Bandra West. A shot was fired into actor Salman Khan’s house and now, Saif Ali Khan has been attacked. All these attacks have happened near the homes and offices of these people. When such famous people are not safe in their homes and offices, how can a common man feel safe,” said Congress leader and Mumbai North Central MP Prof Varsha Gaikwad.

“What happened to the slogan of ‘Ek Hai To Safe Hai’? The law and order situation of Maharashtra has completely collapsed,” Uddhav Thackeray-led Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut asked.

“What a shame that Mumbai sees another attempt on the life of a high-profile personality! The attack on Saif Ali Khan raises questions about the Mumbai Police and the home minister. This incident has happened after a series of incidents which show that there is a deliberate attempt to undermine Mumbai by targeting big names,” Raut said.

Raut also referred to Parbhani incident where a Dalit activist, Somnath Suryawanshi, was allegedly killed in judicial custody after his arrest in a case of violence post the desecration of a symbolic Constitution below the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as well as the Beed incident where Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh of the BJP was abducted, tortured and killed by a gang allegedly led by Valmik Karad.

He also cited the recent killing of Bandra NCP leader Baba Siddique and the repeated threats to Hindi film star Salman Khan from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said, “Even Saif Ali Khan is not safe. It is unfortunate that such attacks are happening on big actors like Saif Ali Khan. The police and the administration should take strict action against these attackers. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that Mumbai is free of fear and there is a nurturing environment for actors”.

“The attack on Saif Ali Khan is a cause for concern because if such high profile people with levels of security can be attacked in their homes, then what could happen to common citizens. Fear of law seems to be at an all-time low in Maharashtra due to lenient attitudes since the past couple of years,” Sharad Pawar-led NCP’s national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said.