Mumbai:
As the new members of the Maharashtra Assembly were being sworn in, Raj Thackeray's men went on the offensive.
Thackeray's men slapped Abu Azmi, Samajwadi Party leader, and grabbed the microphone. They claim this was to protest against Azmi who was taking his oath in Hindi.
For several days, Thackeray has been publicly demanding that the oath for all MLAs be administered only in Marathi. Azmi had resisted, saying he was entitled to take the oath in the national language. "I asked to take the oath in Hindi since I don't know Marathi. I respect Marathi as much as my own mother," said Azmi after the attack against him.
"Hindi is not a national language. In states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra...Hindi is not used. Azmi has been offending the Marathi Manoos. He has been given a fitting reply," said Shirish Parkar, Spokesperson, MNS. When asked if the violence was demeaning for the Assembly, he responded, "Illiterate states like UP have witnessed far murkier scenes. This is for the pride of Maharashtra."
Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has 13 MLAs in the new Assembly. The chief minister, Ashok Chavan, has demanded action against Thackeray's MLAs.