‘Speak Marathi': Raj Thackeray's MNS Workers Slap Restaurant Owner In Thane
The video of the incident shows MNS workers engaged in a heated exchange with the shop owner, repeatedly questioning why he refuses to speak Marathi in Maharashtra.
The workers of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) assaulted an elderly North Indian restaurant owner for not speaking Marathi in Thane district.
The incident, which occurred at Mira Road where three MNS workers confronted the shop owner over language, has sparked outrage and social media debate.
The video of the incident shows MNS workers engaged in a heated exchange with the 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.
महाराष्ट्र में मनसे कार्यकर्ताओं ने मराठी न बोलने पर एक दुकानदार को थप्पड़ मार दिया !! pic.twitter.com/JHU6CSVrJM — Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) July 1, 2025
Notably, MNS chief Raj Thackeray recently voiced strong opposition to what he described as efforts to elevate Hindi above Marathi, asserting that such attempts would not be tolerated.
He made the remarks while criticising the move to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools across Maharashtra.
'People are trying to make the 150 to 200-year-old Hindi language appear superior to Marathi, which has a history of over 3,000 years. This is unacceptable, and I will not allow it," Thackeray said.
He challenged the validity of labelling Hindi as the national language in a linguistically diverse nation. 'Hindi is not the rashtra bhasha (national language) to be imposed on other states. This kind of coercion is not right."
First Published:
July 01, 2025, 22:06 IST
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