Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday fiercely responded to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s controversial remarks about Marathi speakers, escalating the ongoing language dispute between leaders from Maharashtra and the Centre.
Reacting to Dubey’s “patak-patak ke maarenge” comment allegedly aimed at Marathi people, Thackeray said, “You come to Mumbai — we will drown you in the sea and thrash you.” His remarks came during an address at a public gathering in Mumbai as part of his strong stance in defence of the Marathi language and identity.
“I will never compromise on matters related to Marathi or the people of Maharashtra,” Thackeray declared. Urging residents to prioritize their mother tongue, he added, “Learn Marathi as soon as possible. Speak it wherever you go. In Karnataka, even a rickshaw puller fights for his language. Why can’t we?”
Thackeray also slammed the Maharashtra leadership over its language policies, criticising Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for prioritizing Hindi. “Instead of making Marathi mandatory in schools, you want to impose Hindi. That’s unacceptable,” he said.
He further alleged a conspiracy by some Gujarati business lobbies aiming to divide Mumbai from the rest of Maharashtra and gradually shift power and control to Gujarat. “They’re watching how Maharashtra reacts to the Hindi push. If we stay silent, it won’t stop with Hindi — the plan is much bigger,” he warned.
Nishikant Dubey, earlier in the day, had doubled down on his controversial remarks, saying, “I stand by what I said. If you beat up poor Hindi-speaking people, they will eventually retaliate. Raj and Uddhav Thackeray are no big kings… they won’t step out if their security is withdrawn.”
Dubey also defended Hindi as his mother tongue and emphasized the right of every Indian to settle anywhere in the country. “Mumbai is home to only 31-32% Marathi speakers. This isn’t about hate—it’s about equal rights,” he said.
The clash follows public outrage over the Maharashtra government’s now-withdrawn resolution introducing Hindi as a compulsory third language in primary schools. The decision was rolled back after protests led by both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, who held a joint ‘victory rally’ to mark the policy’s reversal.
The state government has now decided to form a committee to re-examine the three-language policy, amid growing tension between regional linguistic identity and national language integration.
