Old divide and rule trick from BJP's playbook: Aaditya slams Dubey for his remarks on Thackerays

Mumbai, July 7 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Monday slammed BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his reported "patak patak ke marenge" (will thrash you) remarks targeting MNS chief Raj Thackeray and his cousin Uddhav amid violence against Hindi-speaking people in Maharashtra.

"To those beating Hindi speakers in Mumbai, if you have the courage, try beating Urdu speakers in Maharashtra. Even a dog is a tiger in its own home. Decide for yourself who is the dog and who is the tiger," the Godda MP posted on X.

Hitting back, Aaditya, son of Uddhav Thackeray, accused Dubey of trying to divide people on linguistic lines with his "shameless" remarks.

"Dubey is not the face of North Indians. He represents the BJP. These remarks were made with a political intent to divide Marathi and Hindi-speaking people. They are straight out of the BJP's playbook to create controversies when there are none and divide and rule", Aaditya told PTI Videos.

The former Maharashtra minister said people from different states come to Maharashtra to fulfil their dreams and are living amicably.

"They do their business here happily. But some elements want Maharashtra to burn for their selfish political agendas.

Aaditya stressed that Sena (UBT) is not against the Hindi language but is aimed at the BJP's move to impose the language on Maharashtra. "Even our spokesperson Anand Dubey is a north Indian".

Dubey's reported remarks also drew sharp reactions from the Borivali BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay and the NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar.

"Statements that create bitterness among the people should be avoided. People from different states come here. They succeed (in their endeavours) because of the support from the Marathi people. Therefore, making statements against the Marathi language or culture is condemnable," he said.

Upadhyay said all languages should be respected, stressing that languages unite people and cannot be used as a tool to break unity.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar also attacked Dubey over his remarks.

"We are not against any language, be it Hindi, Gujarati, or Marwari. However, people born in Maharashtra, irrespective of whether they know Marathi or not, should respect the Marathi language, its identity, and culture.

"If someone comes here and challenges Marathi or Maharashtra's culture, how can we accept that? I want to tell Dubeyji you are focusing on Bihar elections and trying to create a Hindu-Muslim division," he added.

What began as a row over the "imposition" of Hindi language in primary schools of Maharashtra has manifested into a Marathi vs Hindi slanging match ahead of the civic polls, fuelled by attacks on non-Maharashtrian people by MNS for not speaking Hindi.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray recently shared a stage after nearly 20 years for the cause of the Marathi language and vowed to oppose the “imposition” of Hindi in Maharashtra after the state government rolled back the GRs on the introduction of Hindi as a third language in primary schools.

With MNS resorting to street-fighting over Marathi, actor and singer Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, has dared the Thackeray cousins to drive him out of Maharashtra for speaking Bhojpuri.

"I am giving an open challenge. I do not speak Marathi. I speak Bhojpuri, and I am staying in Maharashtra. Why are you driving poor people out? If you have the courage then drive me out. I am giving you a challenge, even in Mumbai," he had told reporters. PTI PS NSK