On July 31, 2025, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan ignited a political firestorm by urging the use of terms like “Hindu terrorism” or “Sanatani terrorism” instead of “saffron terror” following the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The special NIA court cleared seven individuals, including politicians such as Pragya Singh Thakur, citing lack of reliable evidence seventeen years after the blast killed six and injured over a hundred. Chavan criticized the BJP-led government’s handling of the investigation and questioned the accountability in terror-related probes, insisting that terrorism transcends religious identities. BJP leaders, in response, demanded an apology from Congress and reiterated that terrorism cannot be associated with Hinduism, intensifying the political blame game.