Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday that there was nothing wrong in expecting Marathi in the state, it was unacceptable to resort to violence for its insistence and no “stubborn” could be done about it.

He also warned of legal action against those who take the law in their hands on this issue.

CM’s comment came in response to a recent incident in which workers of Maharashtra Navneman Army (MNS) attacked the owner of a food stall in Bhayandar in Thane district for not speaking Marathi, and a businessman in Mumbai issued a statement that he would not speak Marathi despite being in the city for many years.

“You can ask people to speak Marathi in Maharashtra, but you cannot obstruct Marathi,” Fadnavis asked reporters to reporters in the premises of the State Legislature Complex Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai. “Marathi people may not hate so much against other languages,” he said.

Warning against linguistic outpostism, he said, “Even I am Marathi. There are people working in other states.

He criticized selective resentment over languages, and said, “I sometimes wonder how these people embrace English, but create controversy on Hindi. What kind of thought process is this?”

Calling for the creative promotion of language, Fadnavis said, “If you really proud Marathi, speak Marathi. Encourage others to speak Marathi. Start classes to teach Marathi. Why do you send your children to schools where Marathi is taught as a third language?

According to him, the police have taken action against MNS workers, who tampered with a businessman in Thane, who could not speak in Marathi.

The Hindu side has filed 18 suits for the removal of the structure of the royal Idgah mosque as well as the restoration of the temple and for permanent prohibition.

Earlier, on 1 August 2024, on a platform, the High Court had rejected the applications of the Muslim side, challenging the structure of the suits of Hindu worshipers and said that all the suits of Hindu worshipers are worth maintaining.

In the order of 1 August, the court also admitted that these suits have not been stopped by the locations of the Border Act, Waqf Act and Ways Act, 1991, which prevents the conversion of any religious structure on 15 August 1947.

In another phase, on 23 October 2024, the High Court rejected an application by the royal Idgah Mosque Committee to recall the High Court order of 11 January 2024, which consolidates all the suits filed in connection with the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura.

The dispute belongs to the mosque of Aurangzeb-era, which was built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

When the man shouted at the shopkeeper, some other people slapped the stall owner with him, a police officer said earlier.

The Kashimira police later registered a case against seven MNS members for rioters, threatening and attack against seven MNS members under the Indian Judge.

The accused persons were brought to the police station. On Friday, Kiran Kadam, Deputy Superintendent of Kashimira Police Station, said that the police had allowed him to go after handing over the notice.

He said that the police is in the process of “proceedings of the chapter” (preventive action) against the persons accused in the case.

The official said that the office of the zonal deputy commissioner of police would sign the bonds about good behavior to them.

Members of MNS are trying to push for the use of Marathi language in commercial installations and banks in the state.