Come to UP, Bihar...: BJP leader dares Thackerays after assault on north Indians

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday launched a blazing attack on Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray for recent violent attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Maharashtra, and dared him to visit UP, Bihar or Tamil Nadu and try and do the same there.

"Come to UP, Bihar or Tamil Nadu. Tumhe Patak-Patak ke maarenge (people will thrash you black and blue)," Dubey said, referring to the Thackeray brothers' tirade against north Indian people working in Maharashtra.

"I dare them to go to Mahim dargah and try and assault any Urdu-speaking person, like they did to a Hindi-speaking vendor recently," Dubey told news agency ANI as he continued his attack on Raj and Uddhav.

In recent weeks, a few videos emerged and went viral on social media, showing MNS workers assaulting North Indian labourers and vendors when they expressed their inability to converse in Marathi, Maharashtra's native language.

The assault incidents against North Indians come after the Devendra Fadnavis government rolled back the three-language policy in the state a week ago, following stiff resistance from Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, who called it "Hindi imposition".

Citing top business conglomerates like Reliance Industries and the Tata Group, the BJP Godda MP said that Maharashtra runs on the money generated from Hindi-speaking states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, saying they set up huge industries there and pay taxes to Maharashtra.

"You have no industries in your state. You do not generate much tax. States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have mines. Gujarat too has a few industries. What do you have?," Dubey added, calling the attacks "cheap acts".

Dubey's salvo came after Raj Thackeray told his party workers to "hit people below their eardrums if someone creates unnecessary drama", but not to film it.

"If you beat someone, don’t make a video of the incident. Let the person beaten tell that he has been beaten up; you don’t need to tell everyone," he said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Yogesh Kadam took exception to Nishikant Dubey's statement, saying, "Such arrogance will not work. We will not tolerate such statements. He is a Parliamentarian. He has won four terms, but it does not befit him to give such statements".

ATTACK ON HINDI-SPEAKING VENDOR

Last week, a shopkeeper in Mumbai's Mira Road area was assaulted by MNS workers after he allegedly refused to speak in Marathi - an incident that was caught on camera and has since gone viral.

After the shopkeeper expressed his inability to converse in Marathi, two MNS workers were seen slapping him as he struggled to respond. Another man could be heard hurling abuse and warning him he wouldn't be allowed to run a business in the area.

The incident sparked a major political slugfest in the state and across the country, with several leaders condemning the act, and demanding action. However, the MNS defended the action, saying, "If anyone insults the Marathi language, MNS will respond in this manner".

THE RAJ-UDDHAV THACKERAY TANGO

On Saturday, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the stage for the first time in two decades during their "victory rally" against "Hindi-imposition" in the state, after the state government rolled back the three-language policy.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS has been at the forefront of opposing the three-language formula. The party had even planned a major protest in Mumbai on Saturday against the policy, which mandates the teaching of Hindi, English, and Marathi in Maharashtra's schools.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackery later clarified that he is not "anti-Hindi" but is against "Hindi-imposition" in the Marathi-speaking state.

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