Actor-BJP neta dares: ‘I don't speak Marathi. Throw me out'
has raised the issue of Marathi vs north Indians and Gujaratis as it seeks to consolidate its voters among non-Marathi communities.
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On Saturday, former BJP MP from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Bhojpuri actor
, also known as Nirahua, waded into the language controversy, saying no one should indulge in such dirty politics. "The beauty of India is its unity in diversity. No one should do such dirty politics. I am a politician and an actor. Politics must be for the good of people. Mein Marathi nahin bolta. Kisi mein dum hai toh mujhe
se nikaal ke dikhaaye (I do not speak Marathi.
I challenge them to throw me out of Maharashtra)," said Yadav.
Earlier, share market investment analyst Sushil Kedia had also challenged MNS, which is spearheading the agitation against the introduction of Hindi as a third language in schools, saying neither does he know Marathi nor will he speak it. After his office was vandalised on Satuday, he apologised.
The Thackeray cousins joined political forces over the "imposition" of Hindi in schools and scored a victory over BJP when CM Devendra Fadnavis withdrew two govt resolutions that allowed Hindi to be taught in school from Class 1 as a third language.
With local body elections likely to be held later this year, BJP, which is keen to win the BMC elections, has been quick to work to consolidate the north Indian voters who have not forgotten the thrashing that many from their community in Mumbai were subjected to at the hands of MNS several years ago. Fadnavis, while saying they were proud of Marathi, came down heavily on those opposing Hindi, which he said is also an Indian language.
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Mumbai metropolitan region, which has 11 municipal corporations, has a significant Hindi-speaking north Indian population from UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. There is a strong and influential Gujarati population in Mumbai and Thane.
Meanwhile, in Solapur, BJP minister Girish Mahajan said many MLAs and MPs from Sena (UBT) are in touch with him and they do not trust Thackeray's leadership. "The results of the upcoming zilla parishad, panchayat samiti, and municipal elections will show how much public trust each leader holds," he said. (With inputs from agencies)
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