Maharashtra Language War: Mayhem In Mumbai As MNS Stages Massive Anti-Traders Protests - What Are They Demanding?

Workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were detained on Tuesday during a rally in order to counter a protest which was staged by traders in Maharashtra as a food stall owner was assaulted for not speaking in Marathi.

What Was The Rally About?

There has been some unrest in Maharashtra recently over language and those who do not speak Marathi have become prime targets for this language-war which has now taken centerstage in the state.

The rally in the Mira Bhayander area brought Thane districts to a standstill, with heavy police deployment, roads being blocked and affected traffic movement.

There was no police permission for the rally on the route and despite that the MNS workers decided to march to Mumbai.

However, MNS's Thane and Palghar head Avinash Jadhav and other leaders were detained in the early morning and this derailed the party's plans.

What Do MNS Leaders Want?

The Minister of Transport for the state, Pratap Sarnaik, from the opposing party Shiv Sena, tried to join the MNS protest against his government amid the ongoing language war in Maharashtra.

After this, the workers of MNS heckled the minister and forced him to leave the protest site in Thane.

According to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, they were not following the right route.

"The police commissioner informed me that they were asked to change the route, however, they were adamant to take the same route," Fadnavis said.

The leaders of MNS have accused the BJP MLA Narendra Mehta of politicising the traders' protest.

Additionally, the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti has backed the protest, criticising those who conduct business in Maharashtra but don't speak Marathi.

Before this rally, the police had taken MNS leader Avinash Jadhav into custody. Jadhav is also the Thane district chief of MNS and the organiser of today's rally.

The MNS leaders wished to carry out the rally organised by the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti to go through a specific route, where non-Marathis lived, posing law and order challenges and this is why several activists and leaders of the MNS were detained. 

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