Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 8: The Marathi – Hindi raging language debate in Maharashtra initiated by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) jointly seems to have created a rift within the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis-led “Mahayuti” government with at least one minister attempting to join the protest against his own government but was heckled out by the protesters.
In a dramatic development, the transport minister Pratap Baburao Sarnaik, a senior leader from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, distanced himself from his own government and tried to join the opposition protest in Thane’s Mira Bhayandar amid the raging language debate. The MNS workers, however, heckled the minister and forced him to leave the protest site. Sarnaik also strongly criticised the police for their actions in halting the MNS-led rally, claiming there were no official instructions from the government to suppress a peaceful protest.
Speaking to the media in Thane, he said, “The police action was completely unjustified. The government has not issued any instructions to suppress a peaceful march held in support of Marathi pride. The way police are detaining people it raises doubts that they are working on some party agenda.”
Defying his own government, Sarnaik said he was ready to face arrest, stating, “The Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and several other organizations had applied for the rally, but were denied permission. I am going—if the police dare, let them arrest me. I stand with those who are speaking up for Marathi asmita.”
“The manner in which the police stopped the morcha and detained people early in the morning is unjustified. If the protestors had been allowed to proceed peacefully, there would have been no law and order issue,” he said. Condemning the police action, the minister said he is also proceeding to participate in the morcha. “This kind of attitude by the police is unwarranted, and if the Marathi-speaking people had sought permission for a peaceful morcha, the police should have permitted them,” he said.
The rally was held following an incident in which a food stall owner was allegedly assaulted for not speaking Marathi. This triggered protests by the trader community, which in turn sparked a counter-protest from MNS and other pro-Marathi groups.
The MNS protest, supported by the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and other local organisations, saw participation from hundreds of people, including workers and leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). Protesters marched through the streets of Mira Bhayandar, raising slogans in support of Marathi identity.
Several workers of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS were detained in Thane’s Mira Road this morning when they took out a march to counter the protests against the ‘slapgate’ incident. The police had earlier said at least 45 demonstrators were arrested by 9 AM but even as the detentions continued the exact figure of the total number of protesters held were not immediately available.
The situation turned tense when Sarnaik arrived at the protest site. Instead of a warm welcome, he was heckled by angry MNS workers, who labelled him a “traitor” and demanded he leave. As the crowd grew agitated, the minister was forced to exit the location.
Police had initially denied permission for the protest citing concerns over law and order. Despite this, MNS workers gathered in large numbers. Several of them, including Thane MNS chief Avinash Jadhav, were detained. Some were picked up even before the protest began, while others were taken away as they addressed the media.
In some cases, women protesters were seen being taken away in police vans. A number of MNS activists were also held overnight or kept inside a banquet hall to prevent them from joining the protest. Sarnaik has said he would raise the matter with the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Tensions prevailed in Mira Bhayander as police rounded up protestors who had gathered to participate in the rally. Mr Fadnavis has maintained that permission had been granted for the rally, in which MNS leaders planned to participate, but the party insisted on a specific route which posed law and order challenges.
Videos of several MNS activists, including women, packed in police vans have surfaced on social media. Protesters shouted slogans against the government, criticising it for not allowing the morcha. The police also confined several activists inside a banquet hall to prevent them from reaching the protest venue.
The MNS’s Thane unit chief, Ravindra More, posted a video on social media, which showed activists detained inside the banquet hall, many of them holding black placards condemning the government. “Our peaceful protesters were stopped even before they could reach the site. This is not democracy,” Mr More wrote in his post.
According to sources, the police started detaining MNS workers in the early hours of the day before they could arrive at the protest venue from different parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “The preventive action was taken to maintain law and order,” said an official, declining to comment on the use of a banquet hall as a detention space. There was heavy police deployment in the Mira Bhayander town, as the situation remained tense.
While being detained, several MNS workers questioned why traders were allowed to protest against the ‘slapgate’ incident, but their counter-protest was prohibited. Many of them said whoever lives in Maharashtra must learn Marathi and threatened that those who don’t will “face consequences.”
Mr Fadnavis trashed the allegations that police denied permission for the rally. “In Maharashtra, everyone has the right to take out a protest march. Anyone can do after taking police permission. There are traffic issues, stampede risks etc. The police commissioner told me they (MNS leaders) were asked to change the route, but they were adamant. So police stopped them,” he said. Taking a swipe at his rivals, the Chief Minister said, “I think I know Maharashtra’s mood. Such experiments won’t work here. A Marathi has a large heart. He does not think small.”
At the centre of the language row is an assault on a shopkeeper late on Sunday. Forty-eight-year-old Babulal Chaudhary, who runs the ‘Jodhpur Sweet Shop’ in Mira Road, was slapped and threatened by seven MNS goons because his staff Bagharam spoke to the men in Hindi. The MNS workers demanded that Mr Chaudhary and Mr Bagharam speak in Marathi, and the shop owner pointed out that all languages are spoken in the state. A video of the assault went viral on social media, reigniting the language debate in Maharashtra.
The language row is also playing out against the backdrop of key developments in Maharashtra politics. Estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray have reunited after two decades and are countering the BJP’s political attacks over the ‘slapgate’ incident. The ‘slapgate’ incident followed the political row over the state government introducing ‘Hindi’ in the primary school curriculum. This was later rolled back.
The issue has sparked heated exchanges between leaders on opposite sides of the political aisle. Senior BJP leader and MP Nishikant Dubey launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Thackerays and dared them to come to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
“If you’re so courageous that you can beat those who speak Hindi, then you should also beat those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu. If you’re such a big ‘boss,’ step out of Maharashtra, come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu – tumko patak ke maarenge,” the BJP leader had said.
Uddhav Thackeray accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage by “divide and rule policy”. He said he was not against any language, but would oppose its imposition by force. “Divide and rule has always been the BJP’s policy. This style of politics is now losing its relevance. I can understand if their party is rattled because of the success of our rally in Mumbai on Saturday,” he told reporters.
The minister’s presence at the protest raised questions. It is possible that Mr Sarnaik reached the protest without the knowledge and approval of the party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. But since the Shiv Sena leadership has not publicly commented on this, another possibility arises: the minister got a go-ahead from the party. Now, why would a leader of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena try to join a protest by Raj Thackeray’s MNS, which has come close to Mr Shinde’s arch-rival Uddhav Thackeray? The answer to this lies in the emotive language issue in Maharashtra, the upcoming civil polls, and the reunion of the Thackeray cousins.
Following the rebellion that split the Shiv Sena, Team Shinde managed to retain the party’s name and symbol. But its alliance with the BJP and NCP has now put it on the wrong side as the Marathi vs non-Marathi debate plays out in Maharashtra. Language has historically been an emotive issue in the Western state, and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray has been a champion of the Marathi Manoos cause.
So, while Mr Shinde may have retained the party’s name and symbol, it is largely out of action as MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) accuse the BJP-ruled Centre of imposing Hindi and taking the fight to the streets. The Sena chief appears to be restless, fearing that arch-rival Uddhav Thackeray may reap political dividends from this issue.
What has made the situation more difficult for Eknath Shinde is the recent reunion of Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj, nearly two decades after the latter quit Shiv Sena and founded the MNS. With the estranged cousins burying the hatchet, the Thackeray family is now united politically. This can be trouble for Eknath Shinde. Despite Team Shinde holding Shiv Sena’s name and symbol, the united Thackeray cousins can claim Bal Thackeray’s legacy and gain politically.
The Sena UBT sprang a surprise in the Lok Sabha election last year, winning nine seats, two more than the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. While Uddhav Thackeray suffered a setback in the state polls, the reunion with Raj Thackeray can tilt the balance in his favour.
Mr Shinde knows this, and his attempts to woo Raj Thackeray and bring him over to his side continue. While the Sena chief criticised Uddhav after the cousins’ joint rally last week, he spared Raj. “While Raj Thackeray’s solicitude for the Marathi language was evident in his speech, Uddhav Thackeray showed anger, hatred and a thirst for power and a chair,” Mr Shinde said.
Mr Shinde faces a tough fight. To swing the Sena voter base in his favour, he must reach out to the Marathi voter, but his alliance with the BJP makes him vulnerable to the Opposition’s “anti-Marathi” line of attack.
With Eknath Shinde in a fix, his arch-rivals in Sena UBT have launched a scathing attack on their estranged partner. Sena (UBT) leader has said Mr Shinde and his supporters should remove photographs of the late Bal Thackeray from their offices if they still ally with BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who made a controversial remark amid the language row.
“If Eknath Shinde cannot speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on this matter, he should resign. It is the responsibility of (Chief Minister Devendra) Fadnavis, Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to rein in Dubey,” the Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said. “Eknath Shinde, who considers himself the leader of the duplicate Shiv Sena, should cut off his beard,” Mr Raut added.