Shiv Sena UBT leader and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday dismissed media reports claiming shop owners were slapped and forced to apologise for refusing to speak Marathi at party leader Rajan Vichare's office.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Thackeray stated, "I spoke with Rajan Vichare ji about the video, and he confirmed this incident had nothing to do with Marathi versus non-Marathi speakers, Maharashtra versus North India, or any community conflict."
Elaborating further, he explained, "An official had entered a shop to charge his phone and was denied permission. This led to an altercation where the individual was assaulted... A woman intervened to protect him... The matter has now been reported to the police."
Thackeray's clarification follows the circulation of a video allegedly showing former MP and Shiv Sena UBT leader Rajan Vichare summoning traders to his office, where they were reportedly beaten and forced to apologise for not speaking Marathi.
Several media outlets had reported that Vichare and his associates had demanded the traders to converse in Marathi.
This incident adds to a series of recent cases where non-Marathi speakers have been targeted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers over language issues.
In a recent incident, MNS workers assaulted a restaurant owner in Mira Road for not using Marathi while interacting with customers.
In response to the violence, several shops remained closed on Thursday in protest against the rising incidents of hooliganism in the name of language.
