'Take charge, cancel...': Sushil Kedia's appeal to EC after office vandalism over Marathi

After facing threats and the vandalism of his Mumbai office by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers, investor Sushil Kedia on Wednesday called on the Election Commission to act against political parties that engage in identity-based intimidation.

"Election Commission needs to take charge & cancel registrations of any political parties that intimidate people based on caste, creed, religion or language," Kedia posted on X.

The comment comes days after his office in Worli was attacked by unidentified men allegedly affiliated with the MNS. Stones were hurled and pro-Marathi slogans raised after Kedia's earlier post in which he declared he would not learn Marathi despite having lived in Mumbai for over 30 years. 

In his retraction on social media, Kedia stated his post was written under stress. "My tweet happened in the wrong state of mind under stress, and further, it is getting manipulated and misinterpreted to suit the interests of people who want to be in any controversy," he said. "Having come under pressure from the violence inflicted on those who do not know Marathi, I ended up overreacting… I realise I must take back my reactions and withdraw."

He also addressed MNS chief Raj Thackeray directly: "I request Raj Thackeray Ji to consider my humble submission." Acknowledging his experience in the city, he added, “I have lived in Mumbai for over 30 years. The efficiency of people knowing Marathi is unmatched."

The original controversy began when Kedia responded to political calls for the mandatory use of Marathi in government offices. In his earlier post, he had written, "I don’t know Marathi properly even after living for 30 years in Mumbai & with your gross misconduct I have made it a resolve that until such people as you are allowed to pretend to be taking care of Marathi Manus I take pratigya I won’t learn Marathi."

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande reacted harshly on X: "If you insult Marathi in Maharashtra, you'll get a slap on the ear… stay in your lane, Mehta or whoever."

Meanwhile, Thackeray, addressing a joint rally with Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday, advised party workers not to beat up people who don't speak Marathi — unless provoked. "Be it Gujarati or anyone else, they must know Marathi. But there is no need to beat people for not speaking Marathi. [But] if someone creates unnecessary drama, you must hit below their eardrums," he said. "If you beat someone, don’t make a video of the incident. Let the person beaten up tell that he has been beaten up; you don’t need to tell everyone."

Uddhav Thackeray, defending what he called “Marathi pride”, said: “Yes, we are goons if we have to do hooliganism for justice.” Referring to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis' comment that hooliganism in the name of language wouldn’t be tolerated, Uddhav said, “We will keep doing hooliganism if we don’t get justice.”