A migrant auto driver was on Saturday assaulted by alleged Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, days after a video purportedly showing him refusing to speak in Marathi went viral.
A video of the assault, which also surfaced on social media, showed alleged Sena (UBT) workers slapping the driver and forcing him to apologise for his “anti-Marathi” remarks.
“Hindi bolunga, Bhojpuri bolunga, par Marathi nahi bolunga (I’ll speak Hindi. I’ll speak Bhojpuri, but not Marathi),” the driver, originally from Uttar Pradesh, was heard saying in a video that had gone viral last week.
Alleged Sena (UBT) workers confronted the driver outside Virar railway station on Saturday and started raining slaps on him. “I apologise to the people of Maharashtra for insulting the Marathi language,” the driver was heard saying with folded hands in the assault video.
The incident comes at a time when the language row has gripped Maharashtra. Estranged Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, had joined hands after two decades to protest against chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's move to introduce Hindi as the default third language in primary schools. The Thackerays had termed it an effort to “impose Hindi” on Marathi pride.
The state government rolled back the policy in the face of opposition, but the controversy continues to trigger violence against non-Marathis.
Ahead of a joint rally by the Thackerays against “Hindi imposition” on July 5, a trader was assaulted by Raj Thackeray-led MNS's cadres for not speaking in Marathi. The incident had sparked a protest by the traders' community, prompting the MNS to hold a counter-protest.
