Marathi Row: Maharashtra minister Yogesh Kadam on Thursday said that speaking Marathi is a must in the state, and if anyone fails to respect the language, strict legal action will be taken against the person. This remark comes amid a viral video that sparked widespread outrage on social media in which a food stall owner was assaulted, allegedly by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers, for refusing to respond in Marathi.

"In Maharashtra, you have to speak Marathi. If you don't know Marathi, your attitude shouldn't be that you won't speak Marathi,” Yogesh Kadam said. If anyone disrespects Marathi in Maharashtra, we will enforce our laws," he added. Condemning the violence, he said, "Those who beat up the shopkeeper should not have taken the law into their own hands. They should have filed a complaint. Action would have been taken."

Video Sparks Outrage

The incident took place on Tuesday evening in the Bhayander area of Thane district when some miscreants wearing scarves bearing the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS symbol) assaulted a food stall owner. In the viral video, the men can be seen repeatedly slapping the food vendor for not responding in Marathi.

While they were purchasing food, they asked the food vendor to reply in Marathi, to which he refused. The men angrily slapped the food vendor, and others also joined, a police official said. The food vendor registered a complaint, and a case has been lodged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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The incident unfolded as the debate over language imposition continued in Maharashtra. Earlier last week, the Maharashtra government withdrew its decision to make Hindi a mandatory third language from Class 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools.

The order was withdrawn after opposition parties, especially the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray-led MNS and Marathi language advocacy group, slammed the state government and accused it of imposing Hindi on Marathi people.

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