The Pune Police have registered an offence against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) city unit chief Sainath Babar and eight party workers for vandalising shops lacking Marathi signboards, an official confirmed on Saturday.
The MNS on Friday unleashed chaos targeting shops without Marathi signages across various city areas, including Tilak Road and Jangali Maharaj Road. Workers from Raj Thackeray's party threw stones and damaged several English signboards, including those of multinational brand stores.
Nine individuals, including Kuldeep Yadav, Shyam Tathe, Pravin Misal, Sandeep Mane, Pravin Sonavane, Rajendra Wagaskar, Dada Sathe, Yogesh Khadke, and Babar, are named in the case under section 143 (unlawful assembly) and other relevant Indian Penal Code and Mumbai Police Act provisions, the official added.
Wagaskar, speaking to the media on Friday, declared, "This is just the beginning of our protest in Pune city. We have forwarded letters to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Police Commissioner about this, and our agitation won't cease until the last Marathi signboard is installed."
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The incident occurred only a few days after MNS president Raj Thackeray, who was in Pune, criticised the state government for "failing" to implement the Supreme Court directive on installing Marathi signboards on shops and other establishments, and claimed the ruling coalition pays just "lip service" to Marathi and Hindutva issues.
"Our government pays just lip service to Marathi and Hindutva issues. They talk about ideologies of Balasaheb Thackeray, but do not follow or act on them. Despite a court order on the Marathi signboard issue, they have been unable to implement it. When I asked them to remove loudspeakers atop mosques, that time also they did not do so," said the MNS leader.
The Supreme Court earlier gave shopkeepers and other commercial establishments in the state a two-month deadline to install signboards in the Marathi (Devnagri) script in bold letters. The deadline ended on November 25.
As per the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of employment and conditions of service) Rules, 2018, and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Act, 2022, respectively, the signboards of establishments must be in Marathi.
(With PTI inputs)
