In a bizarre incident, a Marathi speaking bank employee had to face the wrath of MNS workers in Lonavala during their protest demanding use of Marathi language in the bank business proceedings.
Mumbai:In a bizarre incident, a Marathi speaking bank employee had to face the wrath of MNS workers in Lonavala during their protest demanding use of Marathi language in the bank business proceedings.
The altercation occurred at the Bank of Maharashtra’s Lonavala branch on Wednesday as MNS workers visited the bank and submitted their demand to the branch manager, insisting that all employees must speak and use Marathi from the following day. The activists reportedly engaged in a heated argument with the bank manager, a Hindi speaker, and staff over their continued use of Hindi despite requests to switch to Marathi.
During the discussion, a Marathi-speaking employee intervened, arguing that customer service was not affected by the use of Hindi. This angered the MNS workers, who assaulted him and threw him out of the manager’s cabin.
The video of this incident has gone viral, showing the situation escalating and a Marathi speaking employee getting beaten up by the MNS workers.
According to MNS, although the Bank of Maharashtra is a nationalised bank, the majority of its customers are Maharashtrians, including elderly people and rural customers who may not understand Hindi properly. They also cited a Maharashtra government rule requiring the use of Marathi in public and government establishments, which they claim has not been fully implemented.
The assaulted employee led a complaint at the Lonavala City Police Station, prompting police to register a non-cognizable offense against one of the accused.
The development comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray, in the Gudhi Padwa rally on March 30, launched his party’s drive to enforce the use of Marathi, the state’s official language, in government and private establishments. Following the rally, the party workers launched a statewide campaign, visiting banks and asking them to use Marathi in daily operations.
Chief minister Devendra Fadanvis warned MNS workers not to take the law into their own hands. “It is not wrong to demand the use of Marathi in Maharashtra. The government also wants Marathi to be used as much as possible. However, if someone takes the law into their own hands, then the law will take its course,” he said.
