MNS workers assault D-Mart employee in Versova over Marathi language dispute
Mumbai: A D-Mart employee in Versova, Andheri (West), was allegedly assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers after he refused to speak in Marathi. The incident, which took place on March 25, has reignited debates over language politics in Maharashtra.
A video of the altercation has gone viral, showing the employee telling a customer, “Nahi aata meko Marathi, main Hindi hi bolega, jo karna hai wo kar” (I don’t know Marathi, I will speak only in Hindi. Do what you want to do). The remarks reportedly drew the attention of MNS workers, who, led by their Versova unit president Sandesh Desai, visited the store and confronted the employee.
The video shows MNS workers slapping the employee and questioning him about when he arrived in Mumbai. They also demanded that he learn Marathi if he wished to continue working at the store. Following the confrontation, the employee issued an apology, according to PTI.
Similar incident reported in Mulund
A similar case was reported in January at a fast-food stall in Mulund, where MNS workers allegedly assaulted an employee over his treatment of a Marathi-speaking family. According to reports, the incident began when a woman and her mother, who had visited Mulund for bank-related work, stopped at the stall. The worker allegedly insulted them, saying, “If you can’t afford it, why did you come here to eat?” When the woman questioned him, he allegedly began shouting, and when her mother intervened, he pushed her aside.
Following this, the family approached the MNS public relations office, after which party workers confronted the employee at the stall. A viral video shows the workers grabbing him by the collar, slapping him repeatedly, and dragging him outside. Another employee who attempted to intervene was also slapped and warned to stay away. The worker initially denied the allegations but was later forced to apologise.
"मराठीसाठी पुन्हा मनसे"
— Sumit Bane (@SumitBaneMNS) March 25, 2025
काल तुम्ही जो राडा पाहिलात तो फक्त चमकोगिरीसाठी होता, आज मराठी माणसावर अन्याय व मराठी भाषेचा अपमान झाला तेव्हा धावून फक्त मनसे आली!
मराठीचा अपमान केला म्हणून डी-मार्टच्या मॅनेजरचे कान फोडल्याबद्दल @SandeshDesai15 आणि टीमचे अभिनंदन!#Mumbai pic.twitter.com/DwnGjJXuHc
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Will vacate one of two assembly seats won in 10 days: BJP''s Suvendu
Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
