- Pune influencer Mahesh Mote humiliated by MNS workers.
- Forced to apologize for mocking Raj Thackeray in reel.
- MNS leader called incident 'Mahaprasad' in party style.
A social media reel allegedly mocking Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray led to the public humiliation of a Pune influencer, with party workers forcing him to apologise on camera.
Influencer Mahesh Mote was allegedly confronted by MNS workers after he returned to Pune following a 15-20-day stay in Kerala. According to MNS leader Shubham Jagdale, workers located Mote in a park in the Katraj area and took him to the party's public relations office.
VIDEO:
View this post on Instagram
Videos of the incident show Mote being made to prostrate before a photograph of Raj Thackeray. He was also seen with black ink smeared on his face and performing sit-ups while holding slippers on his head.
The influencer was subsequently made to record an apology. In the video, Mote is seen crying and pleading with the MNS workers not to harass him further. He folded his hands and offered an "unconditional" apology to Raj Thackeray and the party workers.
"I inadvertently said something wrong about Raj Saheb, and I also mistakenly spoke inappropriately about Shubham Dada and other MNS office-bearers. Today, I deeply regret my mistake. Because of this reel, I have found myself in this predicament. I sincerely apologise to the MNS party and to all of you," Mote said.
MNS Leader Calls It 'MNS style'
Jagdale, who is the MNS sub-divisional president for the Hadapsar Assembly constituency, alleged that Mote had used highly abusive language against Raj Thackeray in a reel uploaded around 15 days earlier.
He claimed MNS workers learnt that Mote had returned to Pune and was in Katraj, following which they reached the area and brought him to the party office.
Describing the alleged treatment meted out to Mote, Jagdale referred to it as 'Mahaprasad', using the term to describe what he called the party's "own language" for dealing with remarks against its chief.
"We brought him to our office and made him lie down before a portrait of the respected Raj Saheb Thackeray and demanded an apology. In true MNS style, we gave him a fitting reply in our own language - something you might even call 'Mahaprasad'. I believe that if anyone makes such remarks against Raj Saheb Thackeray, MNS will respond in exactly this manner," NDTV quoted the MNS leader.
The incident and Mote's apology were subsequently shared in videos by MNS leaders.