After MNS' objection, Gujarat BJP MLA's office display board in Gujarati replaced with Marathi

Thane: A display board in Gujarati put outside a Gujarat BJP MLA's office in Seawoods area of Navi Mumbai was changed to Marathi after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) expressed strong objection and gave a 24-hour ultimatum.

The MNS functionaries said it is a public relations officer of Virendrasinh Bahadursinh Jadeja, who represents Rapar assembly constituency in Gujarat.

After complaints that the display board, which mentioned the MLA's name and constituency, was only in Gujarati, MNS' Navi Mumbai city secretary Sachin Kadam and other activists visited the office, located in sector 42 in Seawoods, on Thursday to seek clarification. However, they found it locked from inside.

Talking to reporters, Kadam said, "Several local residents had raised objections about the absence of Marathi on the signboard, following which we launched action. This is an insult to the Marathi language, which we cannot tolerate. We do not wish to disturb communal harmony. Our only demand is that Marathi language and culture be respected in Navi Mumbai so that everyone lives peacefully."

"We conveyed our concerns to senior BJP leadership and demanded that Marathi be included on the displayboard by Friday evening. We have no objection to the use of Gujarati or any other language, but Marathi must be given its due prominence in Maharashtra. If the demand is not met within 24 hours, we will be forced to take aggressive action," he warned on Thursday.

The MNS office-bearers said they visited the legislator's office once again on Friday, when they found that the Gujarati display board was replaced with the Marathi one.

"The display board was changed late night on Thursday. While giving respect to other languages, we need to ensure that our mother tongue is not insulted in our home state. This is a collective responsibility," Kadam said.

Recently, amid allegations of the state government "imposing" Hindi language in Maharashtra, MNS workers thrashed a shopkeeper near Mumbai for not speaking Marathi. Earlier this month, the glass door of the office of share market investor Sushil Kedia was vandalised after he declared he wouldn't speak Marathi.

Days after the government withdrew its orders on introducing Hindi as a third language in primary schools, MNS president Raj Thackeray and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray held a "victory" rally on July 5 and reunited after 20 years.