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‘No Marathi vs non-Marathi’, says Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, with an advise to Nishikant Dubey
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis maintained that the Marathi language is being created in the state for political reasons.
Amid the tensions over the Marathi language, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified on Monday that there was no such issue in the state and no injustice was being done to either Marathi or non-Marathi speakers.
Fadnavis also advised party colleague and MP Nishikant Dubey against crossing into the emotive language matter.
He maintained that the controversy over the Marathi language is being created in the state for political reasons.
Last month, BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey had hit out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's "hit below their eardrum" advice to his party workers targeting non-Marathi speakers. Without naming anyone, Dubey had dared Thackeray to come out of the state and said, "Tumko patak patak ke maarenge" (you will be thrashed badly, again and again).
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Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis advised Dubey to exercise caution and suggested that he should not wade into the "Marathi versus non-Marathi" issue, which is being created for political reasons.
"We are capable of handling it. There is no Marathi-non Marathi tension here. No injustice being done to either of them. Both Marathi and non-Marathi speakers in Maharashtra will teach those leaders a lesson who are trying to divide them," the CM asserted.
Sena UBT will ‘resort to violence’
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that his party would resort to violence if needed for the sake of Marathi, daring CM Fadnavis to do whatever he wanted in response.
“Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, for the sake of Marathi, we will resort to violence. Do whatever you want. This is Maharashtra and it belongs to the people who speak Marathi. One hundred and six martyrs sacrificed their lives for the sake of Maharashtra, for the Marathi people,” Raut said during a press conference.
The Rajya Sabha MP wondered if Fadnavis would follow in the footsteps of Morarji Desai, who as the CM of Bombay state, gave orders for firing on Marathi people who were agitating for a state along linguistic lines, including Mumbai.
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On Saturday, the Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), three parties that have seen their strength in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), shared the stage and played the Marathi pride card to the hilt.
This was the second time that MNS and Sena UBT leaders shared the stage after the political reunion of Raj and his cousin, Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray.
(with PTI inputs)
