The Marathi-Hindi row doesn’t seem to die down. On Monday, the language row escalated further as BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Nishikant Dubey dared Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj to visit Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
Speaking with the media, Dubey said, “Patak-Patak ke marenge (will thrash them) if they (read as Raj and Uddhav) dared to visit here (northern states).” A day earlier, BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar had compared the MNS workers’ attack on a Mira Road businessman with the Pahalgam terror attack.
Reacting to both statements, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP for its stand on Marathi. “They (read as BJP) are killers of Marathi,” Uddhav said while speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises. His son Aaditya alleged that the BJP is deliberately indulging in such “divide and rule politics” to consolidate its vote bank.
Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP
Taking the attack further, Sena UBT leader Sushma Andhare said, “Dube has challenged the entire Marathi community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is also Marathi. Now, Fadnavis should react to this challenge as it applies to the CM too.” Meanwhile, Shelar, speaking in the Assembly, reiterated that the BJP will not make any compromise towards Marathi pride, but at the same time, not tolerate any attack on people not speak Marathi.
BJP’s ally in the Mahayuti government, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, too, expressed displeasure over Dube’s remark. Minister of State for Home, Yogesh Kadam, said, “I am not reacting as the home minister. But as Marathi and Shiv Sainik, I will not tolerate such insulting statements against Marathi and its people.”
Last week, MNS activists slapped a sweet shop owner in Mira Road for not speaking in Marathi. Later, during the Marathi Victory Rally on Saturday, MNS chief Raj Thackeray mentioned that there is no need to slap someone. “But, if someone crosses the limit, certainly the erring person should be slapped,” Raj asserted.
Earlier, Fadnavis, reacting to the Mira Road ‘slapgate’ incident, had warned of stern action and maintained that such “goondagiri” (hooliganism) will not be tolerated. Justifying the act and replying to the chief minister, Uddhav said, “If fighting for justice of Marathi is goondagiri, then yes, we are goondas.”
