Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed MNS chief Raj Thackeray over the latter’s decision to stop the agitation for the use of Marathi in banks and other establishments in Maharashtra, saying targeting of lower-rung staffers over the language was pointless.
On March 30, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief warned that those who did not speak the language deliberately would be “slapped”. However, after MNS workers kicked up a ruckus at a few bank branches and other establishments, Thackeray on Saturday asked them to halt the agitation.
When the reporters asked Sanjay Raut about the MNS U-turn, he said Thackeray had followed the tradition of his brand of politics.
“Raj Thackeray has followed the tradition of his politics. My best wishes are with him,” Raut told reporters.
He also slammed MNS workers for the manhandling of junior employees.
“What will happen by beating a peon or a watchman? Do they decide the policies?” he asked.
“We made a movie on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. In it, we have shown whom to beat. We did not beat a peon but the chairman of Air India. It had the desired effect, and the route to recruitment for Marathi youths in Air India and other national institutions was cleared,” Sanjay Raut added.
Raj Thackeray said the agitation must be halted as they had raised sufficient awareness about the issue.
“It’s time to halt the agitation as we’ve raised sufficient awareness about the issue. It’s up to the Marathi community to insist on their rights. If our community doesn’t take action, then what’s the point of these agitations?”
He expressed hope that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government will follow the law regarding the use of the Marathi language in all establishments across the state.
“I have seen a statement of the chief minister in which he has said that no one will be allowed to take the law into their hands. We are also not interested in taking the law into our hands, but it is the responsibility of the government to follow the law. I expect the government to follow the law regarding the use of Marathi language in all establishments across Maharashtra,” Thackeray said in the letter.
With inputs from PTI, ANI