MNS workers now assault toilet attendant for not speaking in Marathi: ‘What will you do?' — viral video

Mint

2 days ago

Incidents of violence over language continue to make headlines in Maharashtra, with yet another man reportedly assaulted for refusing to speak Marathi. The latest case comes from Nanded, where workers allegedly linked to Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) confronted and slapped a public toilet attendant after he refused to converse in Marathi.
A video of the incident has surfaced online. It shows a Marathi-speaking man questioning a toilet attendant at the central bus stand in Nanded for charging women ₹ 5 to use the facility. The man, who was recording the exchange, insisted the attendant speak in Marathi.
In the video, the attendant is heard responding, 'I won't speak in Marathi. What will you do?'
According to reports, the man filming the conversation later lodged a complaint with the bus stand authorities and also sent the footage to local MNS workers. A group of MNS members then confronted the attendant, slapped him, and forced him to publicly apologise for refusing to use the local language.
This incident adds to a growing list of similar attacks in the recent past, all allegedly linked to MNS's long-standing push for the use of Marathi in public spaces across the state.
Earlier this month, a shopkeeper in Mumbai was caught on camera being assaulted for not speaking Marathi. In Palghar, an auto-rickshaw driver was publicly beaten over the same issue. On July 1, MNS workers were seen slapping a street food vendor for his refusal to speak the language.
The Marathi language issue came into the spotlight earlier this month during protests by the MNS and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), who claimed there was a 'Hindi imposition' in Maharashtra under the excuse of enforcing the three-language policy.
The situation escalated in Thane when MNS workers slapped a shopkeeper several times after he questioned them about why speaking in Marathi should be compulsory.