The protests over Marathi blew up in Maharashtra Tuesday as political workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT), and activists of the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti, hit the streets in Thane. As the ruling coalition of the BJP and Shiv Sena tried to contain the damage, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik came to join the protest, but was turned away.
The protest had been called in response to a bandh organised by local shopkeepers in Thane last week over the assault on one of them in Mira-Bhayandar by MNS supporters, who demanded that he speak in Marathi. The MNS had announced soon after the July 3 protest that it would hold a counter-protest on July 8, along with its new partner, Shiv Sena (UBT).
Police had warned against the same, citing law and order problems. Anticipating trouble, on the night of Monday-Tuesday, they detained several MNS leaders, including its Thane district president, Avinash Jadhav.
On Tuesday, hundreds of MNS and Sena (UBT) workers poured onto the streets. As news of the detention of MNS leaders spread, more supporters joined them, crowding Mira Road and saying they would not leave until Jadhav was released. MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande was heard taunting the business community: “You are traders, remain traders. Don’t interfere in politics or insult Marathi.”
MNS leader Nitin Sardesai and the Sena (UBT)’s Rajan Vichare also asserted that
“the insult of Marathi” would not be tolerated. Sena (UBT) leaders accused the administration of detaining Marathi-speaking protesters, after “failing to act against those who made provocative statements during the bandh on July 3 (held by traders)”.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led government, which has been on the defensive on the Marathi issue – having earlier withdrawn a government resolution on a three-language policy, after it was accused of being “pro-Hindi” – tried to control the situation, and Jadhav was released by the afternoon.
Jadhav headed straight to the protest site, where in an address to the gathering, he called for “unity” and warned of further “backlash” if “Marathi people are insulted”. Jadhav also claimed that police had told him he was detained under government pressure.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, which has been apprehensive of the MNS and Sena (UBT) hijacking the Marathi issue, tried to plant its own flag in the protest. Transport Minister Sarnaik, who is also the Sena’s local MLA, appeared at the site. However, he was driven away by the protesters.
Fadnavis, also the Home Minister, said the MNS and Sena (UBT) were wrong in claiming they had been denied permission for their protest, and said police had only acted as the MNS had not followed an advisory regarding the march route.
“It would be wrong to say we blocked the Mira Road protest. I spoke to the Police Commissioner. Police only asked the organisers to take an alternative route due to safety and traffic concerns. The organisers refused… Police also said they had inputs about (disruptive) activities,” Fadnavis said.
Jadhav countered, saying police had never asked them to change their march route. “I was at the police station on Monday afternoon, where I met senior officers. They did not utter a single word about changing the route.”
Sources said that Fadnavis has sought a report from the Maharashtra Police chief on what happened Tuesday, including the detention of MNS leaders. The BJP, which is hoping to consolidate its gains in Maharashtra in the coming civic polls, is apprehensive of a fallout from the Marathi issue. While Marathi pride is central to the Sena’s politics, the BJP as a national party is viewed as an “outsider” in that regard.
The MNS and Sena (UBT) also see the hand of BJP leader and former MLA Narendra Mehta in the protests organised by the traders’ associations. They believe the BJP is trying to rally shopkeepers – many of them non-Marathis, and traditionally a BJP vote bank – behind it ahead of the civic polls.
While Sena leader and Minister of State, Home, Yogesh Kadam, agreed with Fadnavis that the march did not have police permission, there was disquiet within the ruling coalition ranks as well on Tuesday over how the MNS-Sena (UBT) protest had been handled.
Sarnaik told The Indian Express that participating in the protest was “my duty”. “I went to Mira-Bhayandar to join the protest because I had given my word to the Marathi people. Police warned me that my presence might worsen the situation and that slogans could be raised against me. But I told them that I am going regardless, because I owe it to my people. I’m a Marathi first, then a minister or MLA. If Marathi people are organising a protest or need support, it is my responsibility to stand with them.”
However, he added, when he reached the protest site, people asked him to leave.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar asked if denial of permission to protest was reserved only for Maharashtrians. “If non-Maharashtrians can organise protests without permission, why can’t Marathi people?” he said, with his party a late entrant into the ongoing Marathi tussle.
The MNS had called the protest in Thane on Tuesday in response to last week's bandh called by local shopkeepers. (Express photo) 
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