New Delhi: A political and linguistic row has erupted in Maharashtra after a shopkeeper in Mira Road was beaten up for refusing to speak in Marathi.
The incident has evoked sharp reactions, including from state minister Yogesh Kadam, who said, “In Maharashtra you have to speak Marathi. If you don’t know Marathi, your attitude should not be that you will not speak Marathi… If someone insults Marathi in Maharashtra, we will enforce our laws.”
He, however, said the vigilance group’s action was wrong and the attackers should have filed a complaint instead.
What is the row?The issue started when a group of people suspected to be members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly thrashed Babulal Khimji Chaudhary (48), owner of a sweet shop in Mira Road, because his employees replied to them in Hindi. The incident, which took place on Tuesday, was videotaped and widely circulated online. Choudhary told the police that around 10.30 am, some people wearing clothes with MNS insignia barged into his shop and asked for water. When his employee replied in Hindi, they objected and started abusing him. The argument escalated when Choudhary said his employees were from other states and did not know Marathi. The situation worsened when the men allegedly asked him what languages were spoken in Maharashtra and Choudhary replied that all languages were spoken. Allegedly, angered by this reply, the attackers attacked him and also made a video of the incident. An FIR has been lodged against seven unidentified persons under relevant sections of the IPC at Kashmiri police station. MNS defends action, blames ‘arrogant’ attitude An MNS functionary defended the confrontation, saying his employees were celebrating the withdrawal of the language policy proposal by the state government and had gone to the shop to buy water. “The owner was arrogant and said that all languages were spoken in Maharashtra. This is what started the argument,” the leader claimed.