Maharashtra Minister Yogesh Kadam has expressed support for the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers who allegedly assaulted a shopkeeper in Thane for not speaking in Marathi.
According to a media report, while addressing the press on Thursday, Minister Yogesh Kadam defended the actions of the MNS workers. He stated, “In Maharashtra, you have to speak Marathi. If you don’t know Marathi, your attitude shouldn’t be that you won’t speak Marathi. If anyone disrespects Marathi in Maharashtra, we will enforce our laws.”
However, he also criticized the workers for taking the law into their own hands. “They should have filed a complaint against the concerned person; action would have been taken,” he said.
Video of a food stall owner being assaulted by workers of the MNS party went viral on Tuesday.
While purchasing food, one of the them asked the stall owner to speak in Marathi, to which he questioned them back.
This annoyed the man, who shouted at the stall owner. Some others who were with the man joined him and slapped the stall owner, a police official said.
Based on the stall owner’s complaint, the Kashimira police registered an FIR against unidentified persons under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and a probe was on into the case, the official said.
This incident follows the ongoing language debate that has stirred considerable discussion across Maharashtra. Recently, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government issued a Government Resolution (GR) mandating the introduction of Hindi as a subject in state schools from Classes 1 to 5.
However, the decision faced strong opposition backlash, leading the government to withdraw the GR.
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