In a dramatic development, a Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader tried to join the opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) protest against his government amid the raging language debate in Maharashtra. MNS workers heckled the minister, Pratap Sarnaik, and forced him to leave the protest site in Thane.
Several workers of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were detained in Thane’s Mira Road this morning when they took out a march to counter the protests against the ‘slapgate’ incident, in which MNS workers assaulted a food stall owner for not speaking Marathi.
Chaotic visuals played out as MNS workers hit the streets and cops caught them and put them in police vans. The police did not permit today’s protest. While being detained, several MNS workers questioned why traders were allowed to protest against the ‘slapgate’ incident, but their counter-protest was prohibited. Many of them said that whoever lives in Maharashtra must learn Marathi and threatened that those who don’t will “face consequences”.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis trashed the allegations that police denied permission for the rally. “In Maharashtra, everyone has the right to take out a protest march. Anyone can do after taking police permission. There are traffic issues, stampede risks etc. The police commissioner told me they (MNS leaders) were asked to change the route, but they were adamant. So police stopped them,” he said.
Taking a swipe at his rivals, the Chief Minister said, “I think I know Maharashtra’s mood. Such experiments won’t work here. A Marathi has a large heart. He does not think small.”
At the centre of the language row is an assault on a shopkeeper late on Sunday. Forty-eight-year-old Babulal Chaudhary, who runs the ‘Jodhpur Sweet Shop’ in Mira Road, was slapped and threatened by the seven MNS thugs because his staff, Mr Bagharam, spoke to the men in Hindi. The MNS workers demanded that Mr Chaudhary and Mr Bagharam speak in Marathi, and the shop owner pointed out that all languages are spoken in the state. A video of the assault went viral on social media, reigniting the language debate in Maharashtra.
The language row is also playing out against the backdrop of key developments in Maharashtra politics. Estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray have reunited and are countering the BJP’s political attacks over the ‘slapgate’ incident. The ‘slapgate’ incident followed the political row over the state government introducing ‘Hindi’ in the primary school curriculum. This was later rolled back.
The issue has sparked heated exchanges between leaders on opposite sides of the political aisle. Senior BJP leader and MP Nishikant Dubey launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Thackerays and dared them to come to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
“If you’re so courageous that you can beat those who speak Hindi, then you should also beat those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu. If you’re such a big ‘boss,’ step out of Maharashtra, come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu – tumko patak patak ke maarenge,” the BJP leader said.
Uddhav Thackeray accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage by “divide and rule policy”. He said he was not against any language, but would oppose its imposition by force. “Divide and rule has always been the BJP’s policy. This style of politics is now losing its relevance. I can understand if their party is unsettled because of the success of our rally in Mumbai on Saturday,” he told reporters.
