BJP MP Dubey clarifies Marathi-Hindi row remarks, says his words were twisted
The controversy had escalated after Dubey reportedly made the "patak patak ke maarenge" remark, which many saw as inflammatory.
LOCAL
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, while speaking to reporters in Gangtok, sought to clarify his recent controversial remarks that have sparked a political and public backlash, especially in Maharashtra. The remarks, including the phrase "patak patak ke maarenge," triggered criticism from multiple quarters, prompting even senior party leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to term them “inappropriate and wrong.”
In an effort to set the record straight, Dubey explained that his comments were misrepresented and taken out of context. “As far as the question is concerned—what did I say? I said that Maharashtra had a very significant contribution to the freedom movement,” Dubey said. “The Marathi language, like Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, is an original and respected language. People have love and pride for their languages, and that should be respected.”
Dubey emphasised that the controversy had nothing to do with the Thackeray family or the Maratha community. “This is just like asking who pays taxes. The State Bank of India pays taxes because its headquarters is located in Mumbai. That doesn’t mean all taxes come from Maharashtra. If I am standing in Sikkim, that doesn’t mean Sikkim pays all the taxes,” he said.
Responding to criticism regarding his comment that Maharashtra’s economic contribution is misunderstood, Dubey added, “No one denies that Maharashtra is important for the country’s economy. But our statements have been distorted. Mukesh Ambani lives in Mumbai and speaks very little Marathi. The SBI Chairman is from Andhra Pradesh and speaks Telugu. People live and work in Maharashtra, but that doesn’t make them any less Indian.”
He also warned against regional discrimination, saying, “If you keep creating an atmosphere of hate against people from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal, or earlier against people from Tamil Nadu or Gujarat, and make politics out of it, then it’s dangerous for the nation’s unity.”
The controversy had escalated after Dubey reportedly made the "patak patak ke maarenge" remark, which many saw as inflammatory. The backlash prompted Devendra Fadnavis to publicly distance himself from the comment. “It was inappropriate,” Fadnavis said in a statement on July 8. “These are not the words we support.”