Marathi Row: NDTV's Tough Questions To Raj Thackeray Party's Leader Viral

Amid the raging Marathi language debate in Maharashtra, NDTV reporter Sujata Dwivedi confronted a leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which has made headlines after its workers assaulted a shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi. A video of interaction, during which Ms Dwivedi asks tough questions to the MNS leader and she struggles to respond, has now gone viral.

During an interaction with NDTV, Reshma Tapase, state vice-president of the MNS, said that the party will file sedition cases against anyone who does not respect Marathi. The NDTV reporter then pointed out that it Ms Tapase's party colleagues who are facing cases for assaulting people in the name of language. She replied, "There are cases against me, too; it's not a big deal. This is for Marathi and Maharashtra. Whoever comes here and whoever has settled here must decide if they want to speak Marathi or not."

"Those who don't respect Marathi will be beaten": MNS' Reshma Tapase after a shopkeeper was assaulted by MNS workers in Thane for asking them why speaking in Marathi should be compulsory@shivaroor @sujata_dwivedi pic.twitter.com/9HJjbjkVIP

— NDTV (@ndtv) July 2, 2025

The MNS leader also said she was speaking in Hindi so that her interview would reach people across the country. Defending her party's rigid stand on language, she said most states in the country were created on the basis of language.

Ms Dwivedi asked her a practical question: how she would feel if she visited another state and was forced to speak a particular language. The NDTV reporter cited the example of Karnataka, which, too, has made headlines for organisations stressing that all residents learn Kannada.

Ms Tapase had a bizarre reply. "I have not gone to Karnataka because I don't know the language." This set off an epic exchange:

NDTV reporter: How many languages do you know?

MNS leader: English, Hindi and Marathi.

NDTV reporter: So you won't travel outside Maharashtra all your life?"

MNS leader: Why won't I go? I know English."

NDTV Reporter: "So, you have a problem with Hindi?"

MNS leader: "Hindi is not my language, nor is it the national language."

NDTV reporter: "Don't you think you can take classes for Marathi?"

MNS leader: "Those who come to me learn."

NDTV reporter: "Like this, after being thrashed?"

MNS leader: "No, you know who gets beaten up? Those who speak arrogantly get beaten up."

At one point, when a supporter of the MNS leader mentions "arrogance", Ms Dwivedi quips, "That's an English word." The video has now gone viral on X, with many praising the reporter for asking tough questions to the MNS leader as she tried to defend violence in the name of language.

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