Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday issued a stern warning amid the escalating language controversy in Maharashtra, asserting that any disrespect towards Marathi or the state would not be accepted.
Aaditya Thackeray also dismissed media reports claiming shop owners were slapped and forced to apologise for refusing to speak Marathi at party leader Rajan Vichare's office.
“We want that our mother tongue Marathi is not insulted and no language is forcefully imposed,” Aaditya Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai.
“We don't want anybody to take the law into their hands, but when it is the other way round and Marathi or Maharashtra is insulted, things can escalate...”
According to Thackeray, he spoke with Rajan Vichare about the video, and the latter confirmed that the incident had nothing to do with Marathi versus non-Marathi speakers, Maharashtra versus North India, or any community conflict.
"An official had entered a shop to charge his phone and was denied permission. This led to an altercation where the individual was assaulted... A woman intervened to protect him... The matter has now been reported to the police," Thackeray said.
{{/usCountry}}"An official had entered a shop to charge his phone and was denied permission. This led to an altercation where the individual was assaulted... A woman intervened to protect him... The matter has now been reported to the police," Thackeray said.
{{/usCountry}}Thackeray’s clarification follows the circulation of a video allegedly showing former MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rajan Vichare summoning a group of traders to his office, where they were reportedly assaulted and made to apologise for not using Marathi.
Some media reports claimed that Vichare and his associates had pressured the traders to conduct business in Marathi.
The incident comes amid a string of recent episodes where individuals have been targeted over language, particularly by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers. In one such case, a restaurant owner in Mira Road was assaulted by MNS members for not speaking Marathi with customers.
Amid growing outrage, several shops remained shut on Thursday in protest against what many see as increasing intimidation and violence in the name of language.