The controversy erupted after the investor in a post on X challenged MNS chief Raj Thackeray and asserted that he would not learn Marathi. The office of investor Sushil Kedia in Mumbai’s Worli area was vandalised on Saturday by unidentified persons, who also raised slogans supporting Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray.
An unidentified police official told that some people reached Kedia’s office in the morning and threw stones. “The attackers were raising slogans in support of Marathi and praising Raj Thackeray,” he said. A Worli police station official told that 5 MNS supporters have been detained in connection with the attack and that an investigation into the incident is underway
“They have been brought to the police station for questioning and further legal action,” the official said. Following the incident, the police also secured Kedia’s office, which is located at Century Bazar. The incident comes a day after the investor had challenged Raj Thackeray and asserted that he would not learn Marathi.
It also comes amid a controversy related to the Marathi language in Maharashtra. Earlier this week, a group of men, wearing Raj Thackeray-led MNS scarves, thrashed a food stall owner for not speaking Marathi in Thane’s Bhayander.
What Sushil Kedia said
The controversy erupted after the investor in a post on X challenged MNS chief Raj Thackeray and asserted that he would not learn Marathi. “I don’t know Marathi properly even after living for 30 years in Mumbai & 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 I take pratigya I won’t learn Marathi. Kya karna hai bol?” Kedia had posted on X on July 3.
A day later, he approached the police for protection after he claimed that he was getting threats over his post. “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 violence will happen. Get the point. Love, not threat makes people get assimilated together,” his post read. “Please note @CPMumbaiPolice @Dev_Fadnavis open threats of violence are being issued by @RajThackeray workers. Provide me safety. Is an Indian having any rights to dignity & safety in Maharashtra today is a question even our @HMOIndia @AmitShah ji might ponder on as well,” Kedia said in another post.
However, after the attack on his office on Saturday, Khedia issued an apology, saying that 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 posted on X.
