Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Avinash Jadhav said here on Thursday that the MNS plans to felicitate women Congress MPs from Maharashtra who surrounded and confronted BJP’s pro-Hindi MP Nishikant Dubey in the Parliament House on Wednesday for his earlier statements threatening to beat up Marathi speakers.
“I thank all three sisters for raising the voice of Marathi. It takes courage to do this and all three women have shown this courage. So I thank them from the bottom of my heart. When these women come to their constituencies after the Parliament session ends, the MNS will felicitate these women MPs,” MNS leader Avinash Jadhav said.
“We expected male MPs to do something, but they did nothing. However, women Congress MPs Varsha Gaikwad, Pratibha Dhanorkar and Shobha Bachhav stood up for Marathi. Today, if these female MPs stand up for Marathi, we will definitely stand up for them. We have no expectations from BJP MPs. Let’s see what the Shiv Shinde Sena MPs do. The Lok Sabha session is still going on. Let’s see whether they present the side of the Marathi people in Parliament or not,” Avinash Jadhav said.
After the adjournment of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Congress women MPs from Maharashtra Varsha Gaikwad, Pratibha Dhanorkar and Shobha Bachhav went looking for BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
As soon as Nishikant Dubey entered the lobby, the three women MPs surrounded him and said, “We will not tolerate your anger against Marathi speakers. Who exactly and how will you beat up the Marathi people? Your behaviour is inappropriate.”
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad also raised slogans like “Jai Maharashtra”, following which BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, with folded hands, said, “You are my sister” and left the spot. Other MPs from the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from Maharashtra were also present there around the same time.
Earlier, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had challenged Marathi people by making a statement that they can be killed with a single blow if they stepped out of Maharashtra, after MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took an aggressive stance on the Hindi language imposition issue. The Thackeray cousins took the stand after MNS workers assaulted a migrant shopkeeper in Mira-Bhayander who had said that he would not speak in Marathi.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had attacked the Thackeray cousins for their stand, saying: “Whose bread do Marathi people eat? You Marathi people live on our money. What industries do Marathi people have? Tell me how much tax Marathi people pay. We have mines, do you have any? All industries are going to Gujarat”.