By News18
Nearly two days after a Mumbai shopkeeper was assaulted for not speaking Marathi, the business community in the Mira Bhayandar area on Thursday called for a protest and shutdown of shops against the assault over a language.
In efforts to show unity and to register strong opposition against injustice and hooliganism, the Vyapari Ekta Manch has urged all members of the business community to shut their establishments for the day.
The development came after the workers of Raj Thackeray鈥檚 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) assaulted an elderly restaurant owner for not speaking Marathi in Thane district.
The incident, which occurred at Mira Road where the MNS workers confronted the shop owner over language, has sparked outrage and social media debate.
A video of the incident, which went viral on social media on Tuesday night, showed that the men had visited the shop to buy food. While they were still at the shop, one of them asked the owner, 鈥淲hich language is spoken in the state,鈥 after he talked to them in Hindi.
The vendor questioned, 鈥淲hy should we speak in Marathi?鈥
One of the party workers immediately responded with a threat, saying, 鈥淢aar khayaga?鈥
The vendor insisted that he did not know Marathi, prompting the MNS workers to ask if he was aware of the state he was working in and the language spoken there.
The vendor replied, 鈥淎ll languages are spoken here,鈥 further fueling the tension. Following this, the MNS worker started shouting at him and slapped him several times along with his companions.
In Maharashtra, MNS workers slapped a shopkeeper for not speaking in Marathi
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鈥 Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) July 1, 2025
The owner filed a complaint after which the Kashimira police registered an FIR against unidentified persons under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A probe has been launched in connection to the case.