A Public Interest Litigation has been lodged in the Supreme Court on Saturday against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, accusing him of provoking violence and fueling animosity toward Hindi-speaking residents of Maharashtra.
Filed by advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay, the petition demands an FIR be registered against Thackeray and his party members for allegedly stirring unrest related to language issues in the state.
This legal move comes amid multiple reports of MNS workers assaulting people and damaging property over language disputes, often targeting those who do not speak Marathi.
Recently, a sweet shop owner in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region was reportedly attacked for not speaking Marathi, and earlier this month, MNS supporters vandalized the office of a Mumbai-based investor after he refused to speak Marathi and publicly challenged Raj Thackeray.
At a rally in Mira Bhayandar last Friday, Raj Thackeray vocally opposed the Maharashtra government’s plan to make Hindi mandatory in schools, particularly criticizing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s proposal for a three-language education policy. Thackeray warned that his party would “shut down schools” if Hindi were imposed on young students and defended his supporters as proud defenders of Marathi identity.
Earlier in July, Raj Thackeray joined hands with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray to resist what they called the “imposition” of Hindi after the state government withdrew official resolutions that would have introduced Hindi as a third language in primary education.
Separately, a group of Mumbai lawyers has written to the Maharashtra Director General of Police, requesting action against the MNS following a series of attacks linked to the language dispute.
The Supreme Court has yet to announce a hearing date for the PIL.
(Inputs By Sambhav Sharma)
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