The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nishikant Dubey responded to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s “dubo-dubo ke maarenge” threat and asked: “Did I teach Hindi to Raj Thackeray?”
मैंने राज ठाकरे को हिंदी सिखा दी ? https://t.co/5YpM1SrzDt
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) July 18, 2025
Thackeray on Friday publicly responded to Dubey’s earlier comment, where the BJP leader had said, “Marathi logon ko hum yahan pe patak-patak ke maarenge (We will thrash Marathi people repeatedly)”, with a warning of his own: “You come to Mumbai. Mumbai ke samundar mein dubo-dubo ke maarenge (We will thrash you, drown you in the sea in Mumbai).”
Dubey, speaking to news agency ANI, defended his earlier statement and said that he would not retract it.
“I am proud that my mother tongue is Hindi,” he said. “Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray are not some great monarchs. I’m an MP, and I do not take the law into my hands. But wherever they go, people will respond.”
He also added that if you beat up the poor, they will retaliate one day. Referring to the past MNS actions, Dubey said: “They protested against Gujaratis in 1956, then against South Indians, and now they are doing it against Hindi speakers. Their history is such that everyone is angry at them.”
Thackeray, known for strong-arm tactics over the ‘Marathi manoos’ plank, has reunited with his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray in the opposition to the BJP-led government’s decision to introduce a third language from Class 1 in schools, which was later scrapped. Dubey had attacked him and the campaign against Hindi, which saw a few incidents of people being manhandled in Mumbai after the younger Thackeray had told his party workers to not make a video if they decide to beat up someone during their agitation.
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