Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's remarks regarding the state's language problem were improper and could lead to misunderstandings. There has been a stir over Dubey's alleged "patak patak ke marenge" comments. In the midst of the ongoing language dispute in Maharashtra and attacks on non-Marathi speakers, the Jharkhand Lok Sabha member made a contentious remark while speaking with the News Agency ANI. Speaking about this with the reporters, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Dubey did not make those remarks against the Marathi people, but he spoke against some organisations. He also said that Marathi people have a big heart and when India was under attack they never thought just about the state but about the whole country.
Nishikant Dubey, while speaking with ANI, said, "You people are surviving on our money. What kind of industries do you have?... If you are courageous enough and beat those who speak Hindi, then you should beat all those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu. If you are such a big 'boss', come out of Maharashtra, come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu - 'tumko patak patak ke maarenge'... We all respect Marathi and the people of Maharashtra, who fought for India's independence. The BMC election is due, and hence, Raj and Uddhav are doing cheap politics. If they have courage - they should go to Mahim and beat any Hindi or Urdu speaking people in front of Mahim dargah."
Devendra Fadnavis, while addressing the reporters, said, "If you listen to Nishikant Dubey’s full statement, he was speaking in the context of the organization; he did not directly target Marathi people. However, in my opinion, making such statements is inappropriate because their implications are quite significant. We all know that when foreign invaders tried to wipe out Indian culture, it was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj who fought to preserve it."
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He said, "I understand the temperament of Maharashtra. The spirit of Maharashtra is such that experiments of this kind will not work here. The Marathi people are generous-hearted. When India was under attack, the Marathi person didn’t just think about Maharashtra, they thought about the entire nation. That’s why a Marathi person can never think small or narrow-minded."