Latest news with #RajThackeray-led
Hindustan Times
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Raj Thackeray's MNS supporters assault Mumbai coaching centre head
Supporters of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly assaulted the head of an academic coaching centre in Mumbai's Kalyan suburb. The attackers had alleged that Chandel was charging exorbitant fees for coaching but had not taken classes.(PTI) In a purported video of the incident, three men are seen sitting across the desk from the owner of the centre Siddharth Singh Chandel. Chandel runs the Siddhartha Logic coaching centre, which prepares students for competitive examinations, including for the Indian Administrative Service, NDTV reported. The video shows Chandel on the phone, trying to placate the men. The attackers had alleged that Chandel was charging exorbitant fees for coaching but had not taken classes. One of the MNS supporters in white shirt is seen slapping Chandel, following which the attackers stand around the table in a threatening position. The video also shows one of the men throwing a stainless steel bottle towards the coaching centre head, while another throws a wooden plaque at him. A group of girls are seen standing in the corner of the room, with some of them recording videos on their mobile phones. This is the recent in a slew of such incidents in Maharashtra, wherein MNS workers or supporters were seen indulging in acts of violence. The incident comes a week after MNS workers allegedly assaulted a Marwadi shopkeeper in Mumbai's Vikroli, claiming he had posted a WhatsApp status 'insulting the Marathi community'. The group surrounded the shopkeeper outside his shop and physically assaulted him, forcing him to issue a public apology to the Marathi community. The shopkeeper apologised by holding his ears and folding his hands. MNS members also assaulted a food stall owner in Thane for not speaking in Marathi earlier this month. The men, who were seen wearing MNS scarves, were arrested and granted bail within hours. In a similar incident, another shopkeeper in Mira Road was thrashed after he refused to speak in Marathi. After the incidents came to light, Maharashtra CM Fadnavis had warned that strict action would be taken against those resorting to violence.
Scroll.in
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Mumbai: MNS workers assault shopkeeper over post they claim insulted Marathi
Workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena assaulted a shopkeeper in Mumbai's Vikhroli on Wednesday for sharing a social media post that they claimed insulted the Marathi community and language, reported The Indian Express. In a video of the assault that was widely circulated online, workers of the Raj Thackeray-led party, including office-bearer Vishwajeet Dholam, could be seen physically assaulting the shopkeeper, forcing him to apologise and parading him through the area. The party workers also told residents of the area to boycott shops owned by those who ' disrespect Marathi people ', according to Hindustan Times. While speaking to reporters later, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Avinash Yadav defended the workers' actions. 'If someone comes to Maharashtra, earns a livelihood here, and then disrespects the Marathi language, Marathi people will naturally respond,' The Indian Express quoted Yadav as saying. No police complaint has been filed in the matter yet. Dukandar par akramak MNS #mumbai #vikhroli #maanse #mns #maharastra #marathi #gujrati #mumbainews #news #newsupdate #viral #viralvideo — MUMBAI TV (@tv_mumbai) July 17, 2025 The incident comes days after an auto rickshaw driver was assaulted by a group of persons believed to be members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in Maharashtra's Palghar district for making 'anti-Marathi' remarks. On July 5, suspected workers of the MNS had vandalised the Mumbai office of entrepreneur Sushil Kedia, a day after he posted on social media that he had lived in the city for 30 years without learning Marathi 'properly'. On the same day, Raj Thackeray told his supporters that people living in Maharashtra should know Marathi, but there was no need to beat someone if they do not speak the language. On June 29, seven unidentified persons, also believed to be members of the MNS, had assaulted a shopkeeper in Thane district for not speaking in Marathi. The incidents took place amid an escalating row in Maharashtra, triggered by the state government's move to make Hindi a 'generally' taught third language for Class 1 to Class 5 in Marathi and English medium schools.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Migrant auto driver thrashed in Maharashtra for 'anti-Marathi' comments
A migrant auto-rickshaw driver was beaten up in Maharashtra's Palghar district allegedly for not speaking in Marathi, intensifying the ongoing language row in the state. The driver was allegedly thrashed by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, reported news agency PTI. A video that has been doing rounds on the internet since Saturday shows a group of people, allegedly from Shiv Sena (UBT), slapping the driver and making him publicly apologise for his remarks. This came days after another viral video showed the auto driver engaged in an argument with a customer and refusing to speak Marathi. The incident reportedly took place on a busy road near Virar railway station. The driver was also made to apologise to a man and his sister, with whom he allegedly misbehaved earlier. "The driver had the audacity to speak ill of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos. He was taught a befitting lesson. We made him apologise to the people of the state and to those he had offended," he added. The local police confirmed that no case has been registered in the matter so far, citing the lack of a formal complaint. What did the earlier viral video show? Days ago, the driver was seen in a viral video threatening a man while refusing to speak Marathi near Virar station. In the video clip, the driver is heard saying, " Main Hindi bolunga, bhojpuri bolunga. Mujhe Marathi nahi aata hai (I will speak in Hindi, Bhojpuri. I don't know Marathi)". Language row in Maharashtra The incident comes amid the ongoing controversy over the use of Marathi language in the state. On July 1, workers of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena were seen slapping a food stall owner in Thane district for not speaking in Marathi. After the traders revolted against the incident, MNS and other groups led a protest march to defend the Marathi 'asmita' (pride). Several leaders and workers of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) had also joined the protest.
Scroll.in
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Maharashtra: Auto driver assaulted for ‘anti-Marathi' remarks by persons linked to Uddhav Sena
An auto rickshaw driver was assaulted allegedly by a group of unidentified persons believed to be members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Saturday for making 'anti-Marathi' remarks, PTI reported. The driver, a migrant worker living in the Virar area, had earlier been recorded in a purported video in which he allegedly refused to speak Marathi and made 'derogatory' comments about the language, Maharashtra and Marathi icons. The clip was circulated widely online. On Saturday, he was allegedly attacked near Virar railway station by a group that included several women. Another video, showing the assault, was also shared on social media. The attackers reportedly forced the man to publicly apologise to a resident and his sister, accusing him of misbehaving with her earlier, PTI reported. He was also asked to apologise to the state for 'insulting' it and its linguistic and cultural heritage. No case has been registered in the matter so far. An unidentified police official told PTI, 'We have seen the viral video and are verifying the facts, but as of now, no complaint has been received from either party.' Uday Jadhav, a leader from the Uddhav Sena who was present at the scene, told reporters that the party would not remain silent if anyone insulted the Marathi language or people. 'The driver had the audacity to speak ill of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos,' PTI quoted him as saying. 'He was taught a befitting lesson. We made him apologise to the people of the state and to those he had offended.' The incident took place over a week after seven unidentified persons, believed to be members of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, assaulted a shopkeeper in Thane district for not speaking in Marathi. On July 5, suspected workers of the party also vandalised the Mumbai office of entrepreneur Sushil Kedia, a day after he posted on social media that he had lived in the city for 30 years without learning Marathi 'properly'. The incidents took place amid an escalating row in Maharashtra, triggered by the state government's move to make Hindi a 'generally' taught third language for Class 1 to Class 5 in Marathi and English medium schools.
India Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Raj Thackeray to Shrinkhal Chaliha, regional fanatics attacking India's soul
The Constitutional promise of "Unity and Integrity" and grand symbol of oneness, the Statue of Unity, collapse in spirit the moment an Indian becomes a victim of violence and abuse in his own nation, simply because they don't speak the local language. In contemporary India, where the nation is integrated like never before and millions of Indians live far from their native states, is it fair to force a fellow citizen to speak the local language, simply because they happen to live there? Such violence and abuse are a blot just as dark as other forms of discrimination outlawed by the Constitution, be it on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of perfectly fine to be emotional about one's language. The Constitution even allows for its promotion. However, hurting and forcing others their livelihoods, in its name, is where the line must be drawn. Indian states were reorganised linguistically in 1956 to preserve cultural identity, not to erect linguistic borders that turn fellow Indians into latest example of a disturbing trend, one that strikes at the soul of the Constitution and its promise to uphold India's social fabric, comes from Thane, Maharashtra. A food vendor was mercilessly beaten by several members of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).The viral video of the incident shows the vendor being slapped repeatedly, one slap after another. What did the vendor do to deserve such pain and humiliation? He didn't speak their tongue. Even if the attackers claim the vendor didn't try to speak their language, how exactly did they know that? Did they test his intent or just assume it before attacking him?Just when nationalism is non-compromising, the push for pan-Indian unity is at an all-time high, these linguistic fringe groups, such as those led by Raj Thackeray in Maharashtra or pro-Kannada groups in Karnataka or Assam's controversial leader Shrinkhal Chaliha, who was in 2023 booked under the National Security Act (NSA), undermine this unity of the nation. This malady isn't just west to east, it's a pan-India their narrow-minded politics, these language extremists exploit the legacy of icons like Shivaji Maharaj and Lachit GIVES RIGHT OF MOVEMENT, DOESN'T IMPOSE LANGUAGE CLAUSEThese groups who take on individuals also defy the constitutional guarantee of freedom of movement under Article 19(1)(d), a cornerstone of India's federal structure. Their actions also hinder economic and cultural integration, deterring Indians from pursuing education, business, and leisure across the nation of a thousand is meant to connect, and people travelling to other states try their best to learn the language. There is no need for imposition, that too by State, including the judiciary, thus, must enforce constitutional protections to safeguard the rights and fight the forces of regional despite these statutory safeguards, comes MNS leader Raj Thackeray with his horrible suggestion: "Slap, but don't make a video." Not a word about handing the culprits over to the law. "Be it a Gujarati or anyone else here, must know Marathi, but there is no need to beat people for that if they don't speak Marathi. Yet, if someone does some drama, you must hit them below their eardrums," speaking in Marathi, Raj Thackeray of condemning, he fanned the flames for electoral gains after his MNS tasted defeat after defeat. It is unlikely that his politics of hatred will find many takers in today's politics of Thackeray is not in India's interest. Plain and the State even examining the chilling effect created by such actions and statements, or is it content with just arresting a few MNS goons and calling it a day? Not one, but several slaps, punches, and humiliation. And a painful question must be echoing in the vendor's mind: Am I not in a part of India?Did the Thane food vendor disrespect the host community? No. Did he say anything against them? Not at after MNS members thrashed the vendor, people from the party damaged the glass door of a Mumbai-based share market investor after he declared he would not speak Marathi and dared Raj Thackeray, reported news agency PTI. Can the party not shed the "goons" tag that now seems permanently attached to its name?advertisementThe malaise extends beyond LACHIT SENA AND SHRINKHAL CHALIHAIn Assam, Shrinkhal Chaliha, the controversial leader of the ethno-nationalist outfit Lachit Sena, routinely stokes anti-immigrant 2023, Chaliha was booked under the NSA after a viral video showed him abusing and spitting on the face of a Marwari businessman in Sivasagar, reported the Shillong August 2024, when Chaliha was named in an FIR for inciting enmity on the grounds of language and race, a chilling call came from the outlawed secessionist outfit ULFA-I, which threatened "grave consequences" unless the complaint was withdrawn, according to exposed the dangerous nexus between regional extremism and militant has burned for decades due to linguistic divisions, which claimed hundreds of lives. The anti-Bengali movement, a result of the movement of Bengali-speaking people from now Bangladesh, started in the 1940s and ran through the wounds started healing as more and more people from Assam moved out of the state for education and jobs after the economic liberalisation of the 90s. Now, thriving communities of Assamese people are present in most states, including Delhi NCR, Karnataka and his goons targeting Bengalis and other non-Assamese communities, Chaliha is bringing back the toxicity that a fast-developing Assam doesn't need. Last year, videos emerged of Lachit Sena goons going around Durga Puja pandals and forcing people to tear down banners written in POKKHO AND KARNATAKA RAKSHANA VEDIKEThough Bengalis have faced Chaliha's violence in Assam, it hasn't prevented those in West Bengal from asserting their linguistic supremacy in the of the Bangla Pokkho, a self-proclaimed "promoter of Bengali nationalism and protector of culture", in September 2024 assaulted two Bihari job aspirants who had come to Siliguri to appear for a competitive examination. While the two were asleep in a room, the group forcefully entered and woke them up. They were interrogated, and upon revealing that they were from Bihar, the group assaulted them, questioning how they could attend an exam in Bengal if they were not from the of the aspirants revealed that Siliguri was the centre allotted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), a central recruitment body. Perhaps they missed that basic 2024, a dozen Bangla Pokkho members spray-painted a badaam shake vendor's stall because it didn't have any Bengali or English on it. The names of the drinks he offered were written in 2020, about 10 members of Bangla Pokkho visited the home of a man named Somnath Singh in West Bengal Chandannagar, unannounced. They wanted to have a word with him over highly derogatory comments he had posted on social media against members, armed just with printouts of Singh's comments, recorded the heated interaction and made him read the remarks aloud in front of locals. The video was uploaded to Facebook. Thankfully, the confrontation, the group said, was meant to "publicly shame" Singh. This was perceived by many as hundred members of the same Bangla Pokkho marched towards Utkal Bhavan in Kolkata in May to protest against the alleged torture and assault of Bengali migrant labourers, allegedly Bangladeshis, in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, a pro-Kannada group, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists, have routinely vandalised non-Kannada pro-Kannada activists in Bengaluru forcibly shut down a Marathi-owned misal shop for not displaying a Kannada signboard. Marathis had to face in Karnataka what the MNS was dishing out in Maharashtra in the name of Maratha in December 2024, the police registered 50 complaints from across Bengaluru when KRV members turned a city-wide protest against non-Kannada signboards into a spree of vandalism targeting English fact, even actor Kamal Haasan had to bow before pro-Kannada forces, as the court appeared to question him, not those threatening a ban on his Tamil Nadu too, sporadic violence has targeted those seen as linguistic INDIA SURRENDERS TO LINGUISTIC, REGIONAL GOONSIf this isn't political complicity, then what is? And this cannot remain delayed response of Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti, an ally of Thackeray's MNS until last week, raises questions about tacit support for such divisive tactics. These incidents demand a robust response, legal action against perpetrators, public condemnation by leaders across the political spectrum, and policies that promote chauvinism, disguised as cultural promotion and protection, is carving dangerous fault lines across the country. It has morphed into a toxic, pan-Indian trend that not only defies the Constitution but, more fundamentally, violates the social contract that binds us as a nation. The contract is built on equality, mutual respect, and the freedom to move, live, and work anywhere without fear or prejudice, not on the bruised faces of street vendors silenced by the victim was a food vendor; yesterday, it was an auto driver. Who's next in line for not speaking the "right" language?- EndsMust Watch
