The Marathi-Hindi row doesn’t seem to die down. On Monday, the language row escalated further as BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Nishikant Dubey dared Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj to visit Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

Speaking with the media, Dubey said, “Patak-Patak ke marenge (will thrash them) if they (read as Raj and Uddhav) dared to visit here (northern states).” A day earlier, BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar had compared the MNS workers’ attack on a Mira Road businessman with the Pahalgam terror attack.

Reacting to both statements, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP for its stand on Marathi. “They (read as BJP) are killers of Marathi,” Uddhav said while speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises. His son Aaditya alleged that the BJP is deliberately indulging in such “divide and rule politics” to consolidate its vote bank.