The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) escalated its campaign on Tuesday by warning that it will have to consider whether north Indians should be allowed to stay in the state. Sandeep Deshpande, newly-appointed Mumbai president of the party, told FPJ that Sunil Shukla, president of the Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Sena, has moved the Supreme Court seeking to cancel the registration of the MNS. “This is nothing but an effort to deprive Marathi-speaking people of their voice. My party has been championing the case of Marathi and those who speak it. The petition is a ploy to silence us. We will not tolerate this.” He said the MNS has not been made a party to the case in the apex court.
Following its massive rally at Shivaji Park on the occassion of the Maharashtrian new year Gudi Padva, the MNS has been on the agressive asking non-Marathi bank staffers to conduct all transactions only in Marathi. A few bank officers were also beaten up provoking a sharp reaction from bank unions who sought chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ intervention. After this the MNS put its campaign on hold. But Shukla’s petition appears to have provoked party and it has adopted an aggressive stance. In the past, the MNS had beaten up several candidates from the north who had arrived in Mumbai to appear for the railway exams. Its slogan was “Verma, Sharma chale jao.”
Taking to X, Sandeep Deshpande, accused the BJP of trying to decimate regional parties. The attack on the BJP is significant since the MNS had joined hands with the BJP in the recent elections.
Shukla alleged that the MNS was not just anti-North Indian but also anti-Hindu because the bank officials attacked by its activists were also Hindus.
Following the development, Deshpande, in his post, wrote, “One odd bhaiyya (north Indian) has gone to court, seeking cancellation of the MNS’s registration as a political party. If north Indians are making attempts to finish a party of the Marathi manoos, (we) need to think whether they should be allowed to stay in Mumbai and Maharashtra.” “This is the work done by the BJP to finish off regional parties. They are doing to do it through their lackeys. We don’t fear them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said there is nothing wrong with the MNS or any other party insisting that people use Marathi in Maharashtra.
However, attacks on innocent bank officers is wrong, he told reporters, demanding action against the party.
According to political observers, the MNS is championing the cause of Marathi with an eye on the BMC elections which are a few months away. The party had performed poorly in the past elections and now it is determined to capture several seats in the 227-member BMC which has a budget of Rs 75,000 cr.
