Mumbai, July 07: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey sparked controversy over his remarks in connection with the Marathi row in Maharashtra on Monday.
The opposition leaders reacted strongly to his remarks in which he challenged the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray to come to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Tamil Nadu where he will be thrashed brutally.
Jharkhand BJP MP lashed out at Raj Thackeray over his controversial remarks amid the ongoing Marathi row, where he asked his party workers to thrash the non-Marathi speaking people and not to record the incident.
Speaking to the news agency ANI, Nishikant said, “You people are surviving on our money. What kind of industries do you have? If you are brave enough to beat Hindi speakers, then you should also beat those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu.”
He also said, “If you are such a big ‘boss’, step out of Maharashtra and come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Tamil Nadu ‘Tumko patak patak ke maarenge’ (we will thrash you repeatedly).”
His remarks invited strong reaction from the opposition leaders in Maharashtra. Maharashtra Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil told ANI, “He is foolish. This controversy is not about language. It is about whether two other languages, besides their mother tongue, should be taught to students of std 1 to 4…The child can get confused – this is what the controversy is about. Congress respects all languages, but it is against diverting from ‘Balmanasshastra’ and confusing children. Be it any state or language of the country, priority should be given to mother tongue from std 1 to 4.”
NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar said, “I request Nishikant Dubey ji not to try and implement election strategies specific to Bihar in Maharashtra. While he is thinking of the West Bengal and Bihar elections, he is disturbing the sense of equality in Maharashtra. We are saying that those who speak against the state and the Marathi language are doing wrong…If you speak against the state and Marathi here, it will not be accepted.”
On Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar’s statement, Pawar said, “We condemn Ashish Shelar’s statement because he compared Marathi people with terrorists. We advise him to stay careful of the prominent leaders in his party who make some leaders give such statements.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “This is exactly the BJP’s mentality, which is anti-Maharashtra. We have asked everyone not to react to such crazy and dirty minds because they want to create fear and instability in Maharashtra. These are the same people who want to create division in Maharashtra, and we will not tolerate this. Divide and rule is part of the BJP’s playbook. This is pure politics… This mentality of the BJP’s MP represents the entire BJP; this does not represent North India. People from all over the country come to Maharashtra with dreams and hopes… Our fight is against the government, not against any language. Nishikant Dubey is not a representative of North India.”
Nishikant Dube tweeted earlier, “In Mumbai, what is the difference between Shiv Sena Uddhav, MNS Raj Thackeray, and NCP Pawar Sahab, and those who drove Kashmiri Hindus out of Kashmir, like Salauddin, Maulana Masood Azhar, and Dawood Ibrahim, who committed atrocities against Hindus in Mumbai? One committed atrocities for being Hindu, while the others are committing atrocities because of Hindi?”
He also said in his tweet, “If you have the guts, those who kill Hindi-speaking people in Mumbai, try killing Urdu-speaking people in Maharashtra. Even a dog becomes a lion in its own house, right? Decide for yourself who is the dog and who is the lion.”
Nishikant Dube’s comments came after MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray organised a joint rally to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s announcement of withdrawal of its three-language policy in primary schools in the state.