‘Violence Over Marathi A Crime': Ramdas Athawale Condemns MNS-Led Assault On Shop Owner
Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Saturday condemned the assault on an elderly North Indian restaurant owner for not speaking Marathi by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers in Thane.
The incident, which occurred at Mira Road where three MNS workers confronted the shop owner over language, sparked massive public outrage and social media debate.
'The bullying that has started in Mumbai these days in the name of language must stop immediately. The respect for the Marathi language is a matter of pride for all of us, but harassing or intimidating someone because they don't know a particular language is a crime," said Athawale in an X post.
The Union Minister said Mumbai, as the economic capital of the country, is home to people from diverse linguistic backgrounds, including poor traders and hardworking labourers.
'The injustice being done to them must stop at once. I appeal to the government to take strict action against such incidents. Living with unity, respect, and equality in society—that is the true identity of Mumbai," he added.
Maharashtra Slapgate
The video of the incident, which surfaced on social media, showed MNS workers engaging in a heated exchange with a shop owner, repeatedly questioning why he refuses to speak Marathi in Maharashtra.
The vendor questioned, 'Why should we speak in Marathi?"
One of the party workers immediately responded with a threat, saying, 'Maar khayaga?"
The vendor insisted that he did not know Marathi, prompting the MNS workers to ask if he was aware of the state he was working in and the language spoken there.
The vendor replied, 'All languages are spoken here," further fueling the tension.
The verbal altercation quickly escalated into violence as MNS workers began slapping the vendor in front of his food stall, while bystanders looked on as the incident unfolded.
After uproar over the incident, the police booked the accused and arrested them. However, they were granted bail moments after.
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