Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday stirred a controversy after he hit back at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's "hit below their eardrum" advice to his party workers targeting non-Marathi speakers.
Speaking with news agency ANI, Dubey said, "You people are surviving on our money. What kind of industries do you have? If you are courageous enough and beat those who speak Hindi, then you should beat all those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu,"
"If you are such a big 'boss', come out of Maharashtra, come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu - tumko patak patak ke maarenge. We all respect Marathi and the people of Maharashtra, who fought for India's independence," he added.
Dubey's comments came in response to Raj Thackeray's comment on the victory rally in Mumbai, where he told his party workers to beat those who don't speak Marathi, but not to record videos of such incidents.
The controversial BJP MP said that the Thackeray cousins are 'doing cheap politics' for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls.
"The BMC election is due, and hence, Raj and Uddhav are doing cheap politics. If they have courage - they should go to Mahim and beat any Hindi or Urdu speaking people in front of Mahim dargah," Dubey said.
Dubey amplified his attacked on the Thackeray cousins and posted on X, "To those beating Hindi speakers in Mumbai, if you have the courage, try beating Urdu speakers in Maharashtra. Even a dog is a tiger in its own home. Decide for yourself who is the dog and who is the tiger."
The remarks drew condemnation from the oppsotions ranks.
Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray fired a lakadbagha (hyena) barb at Nishikant Dubey accusing him of trying to disturb harmony by dividing people.
Uddhav accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage by "divide and rule policy" and stressed that he was not against any language, but would oppose its imposition by force.
"Divide and rule has always been the BJP's policy. This style of politics is now losing its relevance. I can understand if their party is unsettled because of the success of our rally in Mumbai on Saturday," he told reporters at Vidhan Bhavan.
WATCH: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey jumps into language war
He also criticised state minister Ashish Shelar of the BJP for comparing recent violence against non-Marathi speakers with the Pahalgam terror attack.
"These people are damaging Maharashtra and the Marathi language. Comparing those who agitate for Marathi rights to terrorists is proof that they are against Maharashtra and Marathi people,” Uddhav said.
Are the Pahalgam terrorists hiding in homes of BJP leaders? These people should be ashamed of not protecting Hindus and instead standing with those who disrespect Marathi people, he added.
He said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' description of the Thackeray brothers' joint rally as "rudali" (professional mourner) speech shows a "sick mindset".
"Calling a proud moment for Marathi people as ‘rudali' shows a very low and sick mindset. I can understand his mindset because the original BJP is now dead. The party of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani no longer exists. The people who murdered that original BJP are now running it," Uddhav alleged.
He said Fadnavis had to borrow a Hindi word (rudali) to insult a celebration for Marathi people. "Even for crying out loud, BJP has to borrow people from other parties,” he quipped.
He clarified that the Shiv Sena-UBT was not opposed to any particular language.
"Even our MPs speak in Hindi in Parliament. But we are against any attempt to forcibly impose a language,” he added.
In the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Culture Minister Ashish Shelar asserted any insult of Marathi 'manoos' will not be tolerated and said there was no need to question the capabilities of Marathi-speaking people.
Shelar made it clear that his party will not accept attempts by any Member of Parliament to raise questions on the capabilities of Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people), without naming Dubey.
He insisted insult of Marathi manoos will not be tolerated.
Speaking earlier in the assembly, the MLA from Bandra in Mumbai noted contributions of Marathi speakers in India's GDP and also other spheres of life, including films, are well-known.
"Maratha history and Marathi legacy are glorious. I want to make our stand clear. The Jharkhand MP concerned can publicly voice his stand as per law, but there was no need to question the capabilities of Marathi speakers. Marathi speakers' contribution to GDP is known to the country. A Marathi speaker made the first film in the country and another built the Navy," Shelar said in the assembly.
The minister emphasised no one should question contributions to society or capabilities of Marathi speakers.
"If the MP doesn't know about it, we will send the details to him," he said
"Marathi speakers don't survive on anyone's money," Shelar averred.
The BJP minister assured the government will not allow injustice to Marathi or non-Marathi speakers in the state.
With inputs from PTI
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