Five detained for vandalising investor Sushil Kedia's Mumbai office amid Marathi row
Hours after the incident, Kedia issued an apology for his post, which said that he would not learn Marathi.
Five persons were detained on Saturday for allegedly vandalising investor Sushil Kedia's office in Mumbai's Worli after his post challenging Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over speaking Marathi. Some individuals had reached Sushil Kedia's office in the morning and thrown stones at his office, while raising slogans in support of Marathi and MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
Kedia had earlier posted on X challenging Raj Thackeray over the Marathi row, saying he would not learn the language. “I don’t know Marathi properly even after living for 30 years in Mumbai, and with your gross misconduct, I have made it a resolution 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 said in a post on X.
However, hours after the incident, Kedia issued an apology for his statements, while saying that he had made them under “pressure” and “duress”. “My tweet happened in the wrong state of mind under duress and stress and now it is being manipulated to serve the interest of those who are looking to gain from this controversy,"Kedia said.
“Having come under pressure mentally from the violence inflicted on those who do not know Marathi, I ended up overreacting,” he said in the video posted to X.
While withdrawing the remarks, Kedia also praised Raj Thackeray, saying that he had always had “appreciation” and “gratitude” for the MNS chief. He hailed Thackeray for “the strong issues he raises”, saying that the MNS chief had the “strength” to stand up for issues concerning everyone.
Kedia said that he was an “ardent follower” of Thackeray, but had “overreacted” because “our own people have been loggerheads with each other”.
The investor had initially reacted to an incident in Thane's Bhayander, wherein a group of men wearing MNS scarves had beaten up a stall owner because he did not speak Marathi.
