Raj Thackeray-led party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers vandalised businessman Sushil Kedia's office in Mumbai on Friday, days after he vowed not to learn Marathi.
The incident was captured on camera, in which five to six supporters of Raj Thackeray can be seen throwing what looked like bricks at the office. They were carrying these 'bricks' in blue plastic bags. A security personnel rushed in to stop the attack but they only stopped after emptying the bags.
On July 3, Mr Kedia had tagged Raj Thackeray on X, saying he does not know Marathi properly even after living in Mumbai for 30 years. "With your gross misconduct, I have made it a resolve that until such people as you are allowed to pretend to be taking care of Marathi Manus (person), I take pratigya (vow) I won't learn Marathi. Kya karna hai bol? (what will you do)," he said.
Do note @RajThackeray I dont know Marathi properly even after living for 30 years in Mumbai & with your gross misconduct I ahve made it a resolve that until such people as you are allowed to pretend to be taking care of Marathi Manus I take pratigya I wont learn Marathi. Kya…
Angered by this, the MNS workers attacked his office.
Mr Kedia, shortly after the vandalism, again tagged Mr Thackeray on X and said that threatening him with hundreds of MNS workers is not going to make him a fluent Marathi speaker. He asserted that "love, not threats, makes people get assimilated together".
"If I am not confident of the quality of Marathi I can speak, with so much threatening around, even more fear happens that if I miss speaking any word(s) improperly, more violence will happen," he said.
Shri @RajThackeray threatening me by 100s of your workers is not going to make me a fluent Marathi speaker.
If I am not confident of the quality of Marathi I can speak, with so much threatening around even more fear happens that if I miss speaking any word(s) improperly more…
The businessman also urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Home Minister Amit Shah to provide him security. "I am being called from several police stations such as Amboli, Cybercrime Bandra, SB1 etc etc all offering me protection and in that pretext asking my location. This is a dirty operation already on baying for my blood. Kindly protect me," he said.
Mumbai unit chief of the MNS party, Sandeep Deshpande, asked Mr Kedia to concentrate on his business and not say anything against Marathi.
"Do business if you're a businessman, don't try to act like our father. If you insult Marathi in Maharashtra, you'll get a slap on the ear, otherwise, stay in your lane, Mehta, or whoever. That's all for now," he said.
A day after the vandalism incident, Mr Khedia issued an apology over his "vow" statement, saying he wrote the post in a "wrong state of mind and stress".
"It is being manipulated by people who want to gain controversy. Having come under the pressure of violence on those who do not know Marathi, I ended up overreacting. I realised I must take back my overreactions. Truth is, even after living for 30 years in Mumbai, the level of proficiency and fluency that native Marathi can have, we won't be able to achieve," he said in a video message.
"When there is an atmosphere of fear that keeps on returning from time to time, it creates natural hesitation. What if I end up speaking inappropriately, and some people will choose to blow it out of proportion to purposefully interpret as an insult being inflicted upon Marathi?" he said.
I request @RajThackeray Ji to consider my humble submission. pic.twitter.com/i8zGszgNtW
Mr Khedia added that if he overreacted in the post, he clearly understood what a "contradiction he had been myself always".
"Always, always, not once, not twice, but always I have had a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude to Raj Thackeray for the strong issues he raises, with the strength with which he stands up for issues concerning all of us - whether it was the Hanuman Chalisa campaign or the championing of Hindutva. He's always been a hero. But this time, when we were at loggerheads, my mind went haywire under stress," he said.
The businessman added that he "erred completely in emotional overreactions".
"I, therefore, urge the same way that I've realised my mistake, and I wish to correct it unequivocally. The concerned people may also hopefully consider someday soon to be very good, and I will always help us to overcome our hesitations in achieving fluency in the Marathi language more rapidly, as we will be fearlessly using it more and more," Mr Khedia said.
He repeated his apology, saying he hoped those in charge would "consider".
Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray united today at a public rally in Mumbai. after a political separation that spanned two decades. Addressing the event titled 'Awaj Marathicha' (Voice of the Marathi), Uddhav Thackeray took a jibe at Mr Kedia - rhyming his name with 'Bhediya' (wolf).
"Now, someone like Bhediya (Kedia). These people are here to divide and rule," he said.
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