New Delhi: The Shiv Sena today ripped into the BJP-led Central government over the arrest of a second minister of the Maharashtra government, saying they got stabbed in the back by forces who could not take them on in a fair fight. In a tweet, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut cited Afzal Khan, the rival of Maharashtra’s hugely venerated figure Chhatrapati Shivaji. In the same tweet, he added Kansa and Ravana, the arch villains of mythology, with a parting shot, “This is Hinduism”. The state’s minority development minister Nawab Malik was arrested today in connection with a money laundering case linked to the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim — four months after the arrest of Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case.The arrest comes after his clash with Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede, who was in charge of the drugs-on-cruise case, in which megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was also arrested.Mr Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was also arrested in a drugs case by the NCB’s Mumbai unit led by Mr Wankhede last year and the officer had accused the minister of playing retaliatory politics.”When they could not fight Maha Vikas Aghadi face to face, they attacked from behind like Afzal Khan. Let it go on.. If someone enjoys putting away a minister illegally, let them. We will fight and win without the resignation of Nawab Malik. Kansa and Ravana were also killed. This is Hinduism. The battle has just started. Jai Maharashtra,” read his tweet in Hindi.Days ago, Mr Raut’s boss, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had directed another religion-related barb at erstwhile ally BJP, saying “The situation prevailing in the country and the way low level politics is happening is not Hindutva”.”Hindutva is not about violence or revenge. If things continue like this, what is the future of the country?” he had added.The Maharashtra government today made it clear that the BJP’s demand that Nawab Malik resign, will not be met.”In the last 30 years, no one took name of Nawab Malik in connection with the Mumbai blast. But now he is speaking against Union government, hence to shut his mouth, he was arrested today,” said Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal.Mr Malik’s party boss Sharad Pawar has also sharply criticized the Centre, saying invoking Dawood is the surest way to “defame rivals”.Citing the accusation of his ties with the underworld when he was the Chief Minister, Mr Pawar said, “25 years later, the same trick is being used to harass and defame”.