'You people are surviving on our money': Nishikant Dubey's fiery response to Raj Thackeray over Marathi row

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday launched a blistering attack on Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray over the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) recent targeting of Hindi-speaking individuals in Mumbai. Reacting to the ongoing row over Marathi language enforcement, Dubey accused the Thackeray cousins of "cheap politics" ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and questioned their selective outrage.

"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,” Dubey told ANI.

He continued, "We all respect Marathi and the people of Maharashtra, who fought for India’s independence.” But he challenged the moral position of the MNS, saying, “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 the Mahim dargah."

In a post on X, Dubey doubled down on his criticism: “Those who beat Hindi-speaking people in Mumbai, if you have the guts, try beating 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."

The row escalated after MNS workers assaulted a Mumbai shopkeeper last week for not speaking in Marathi. The incident was recorded and posted online, but the attackers have not yet been arrested. Separately, on Sunday, MNS supporters vandalised the office of businessman Sushil Kedia in Worli after he publicly challenged Raj Thackeray’s stand on the language issue.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray, speaking at a joint rally with Uddhav Thackeray, had told party workers, “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 also discouraged recording videos of such incidents: “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 defended the party’s position by invoking the idea of "Marathi pride" and said, "Fadnavis said we won’t tolerate hooliganism for language. If a Marathi manus (person) is asking for justice, and if you are calling us goons — yes, we are goons; if we have to be goons to get justice, we will do goondagiri."

MNS has refused to apologise or act against its workers involved in the attacks. The party's Mumbai unit head Sandeep Deshpande said the slapping of 48-year-old shopkeeper Babulal Khimji Chaudhary was justified because he had "insulted" Marathi. "If there is an attempt to insult Marathi, we will respond. It will not be tolerated," Deshpande said.