Hindi “imposition” has become a hot-button issue in Maharashtra, the fallout of which is incidents of Hindi-speaking residents being harassed and assaulted for not speaking Marathi. The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), long accused of fanning linguistic chauvinism, came under fire after videos surfaced of cadres roughing up migrant workers.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday defended his party, arguing that sporadic incidents cannot be blamed on the organisation as a whole. Speaking at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai, the Yuva Sena chief downplayed the violence.
“You can’t control every sporadic incident, when someone gets angry at someone else over abuse. There will be a natural reaction, if at all. It’s a sporadic reaction,” Thackeray said.
Accused of giving cover to hooliganism under the guise of Marathi pride, the Yuva Sena chief countered by pointing to instances of discrimination faced by Maharashtrians in other states.
“Why don’t you show the incidents where people from Mumbai or Marathi people have been denied a house because they are non-vegetarians?” he asked. “They’re told that they’re ‘dirty’ because they eat meat and fish.”
Thackeray denied that he was giving a free hand to his supporters to thrash non-Marathi speakers, and asserted that “violence from both sides” should be opposed.
“The culture of Mumbai has always been open and welcoming to everyone. People from all across India come here with dreams and become big. There is no problem in that. And that is not despite Shiv Sena being here. That is because the Shiv Sena (UBT) has always been here supporting those dreams,” he said.
Further more, in a significant revelation, Uddhav Sena MP Aaditya Thackeray promised a Rahul Gandhi-like “expose” to reveal the chinks in the armour of the Election Commission regarding alleged irregularities during last year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections. When pressed further on the timing of the expose, Aaditya said, “We can’t reveal the timings of the surgical strikes.”
“We have already written to the EC before the elections last year over the sudden spike in voters, about missing voters and why the booths have been mismanaged. We will have a press conference…,” Aaditya said at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai on Thursday.
With the Mumbai civic polls around the corner, Aaditya Thackeray has warned that his party will soon expose the Election Commission, along the lines of Rahul Gandhi’s recent press conference on alleged irregularities in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
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