New Delhi, July 8 -- As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey created a flutter with his "patak patak ke maarenge" remark amid a language row in Maharashtra over alleged 'Hindi imposition', his party colleague and Maharashtra Chief Minsiter Devendra Fadnavis defended him, saying the comments were not meant against the Marathi people in general. In the same remarks, Defendra Fadnavis also called the remark "inappropriate" that risked creating confusion.

Nishikant Dubey, the Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand's Godda, had put out a controversial post amid the ongoing language row in Maharashtra and attacks on non-Marathi speaking people.

He said, "To those beating Hindi speakers in Mumbai, if you have the courage, try beating Urdu spea...