Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MLA Ram Kadam who allegedly slapped Mumbai Samajwadi Party president Abu Asim Azmi in the assembly for taking oath in Hindi on Monday said he had no regrets for his action and was ready for any sacrifice to uphold the glory of Marathi language.
When asked if his actions were not an insult to the assembly, Kadam said Azmi had insulted the 11-crore Marathi-speaking population of Maharashtra in the 50th year of the state’s formation.
“It is Mumbai and Maharashtra that has made him big and can’t he take the oath in the local language? He had lots of spare time and couldn’t he mug four lines of the speech in Marathi?” Kadam asked.
When pointed out that it was not appropriate to act violently in the assembly, he said, we had to teach Azmi a lesson in the language he understood.
Once a close associate of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, Kadam shot to limelight when he sponsored a Rs 25-lakh prize for Dahi-Handi festival last year. He defeated Mahajan’s daughter Poonam from the Ghatkopar East seat. A builder by profession, he was arrested a day after the election for allegedly manhandling a constable.
Ironically, Kadam was addressing the media in English and Hindi, besides Marathi. “The Shiv Sena-BJP did not utter a word despite tall talks of Marathi pride and it is for the Marathi manoos to see,” Kadam added.
{{/usCountry}}Ironically, Kadam was addressing the media in English and Hindi, besides Marathi. “The Shiv Sena-BJP did not utter a word despite tall talks of Marathi pride and it is for the Marathi manoos to see,” Kadam added.
{{/usCountry}}Echoing Kadam, MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar said: “We are proud of our act and will repeat it if anyone dares to insult Maharashtra.
“For years, this man has been intimidating Maharashtrians and today he crossed the limits,” Parkar said. “If he does not understand civil language, we have to make him understand in a language he understands.”