BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who stirred a row with his controversial ‘patak patak ke maarenge’ remark during the Hindi-Marathi language row in Maharashtra, defended his comment, saying that he stands by his statement.
“I am saying this again, I stand by my statements. This nation is diverse, and all its people have a strong affection for their region…If Maharashtra is a part of this country, then anyone can be settled anywhere in this country…But they beat up those who are Hindi language speakers,” Dubey told news agency ANI during an interview.
“Even today, only 31-32% Marathi speakers live in Mumbai…I accept that Maharashtra has a huge contribution to the economy, I have huge respect for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” he added.
#WATCH | On his ‘Patak Patak ke Maarenge’ remark, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey says, “I am saying this again, I stand by my statements. This nation is diverse, and all its people have a strong affection for their region…If Maharashtra is a part of this country, then anyone can be… pic.twitter.com/U0CqZa2Zix
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2025
Earlier this month, Dubey, Lok Sabha MP from Godda in Jharkhand, had attacked Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over the latter’s provocative statement to his party workers, urging them to “hit below the eardrum” those who do not speak Marathi in Mumbai. He had also asked them not to record videos of such assaults.
The BJP MP hit back strongly, accusing the Thackeray cousins of playing “cheap politics” ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Reacting to this, Dubey, in a post on X wrote: “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.”
“Tumko patak patak ke maarenge” (You will be thrashed badly, again and again), he added, indirectly challenging Raj Thackeray to confront Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu speakers beyond Maharashtra.
Dubey’s remark had sparked a row in the state, with even Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis criticising the tone and implications of the BJP MP’s comment.
“If you listen to the complete statement of Nishikant Dubey, he particularly spoke about an organisation and not against Marathi people in general,” Fadnavis defended.
“However, in my opinion, it is inappropriate to make such comments. Its interpretation causes confusion among the minds of people,” he added.
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