MNS Workers Slapped Mumbai Jeweler For Not Speaking Marathi To Writer Shobha Deshpande

Mumbai : Writer Shobha Deshpande has alleged that the owner of Mahavir Jewelers in Mumbai’s Colaba area casted her out of his shop when she asked him to speak in Marathi. The author had arrived here to buy something. The jeweler on Friday apologized to the veteran writer, who had sat on Dharna on the footpath outside his shop since Thursday night.

Deshpande was later taken to the hospital for medical examination by the police. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray supported Deshpande’s protest. MNS warned jeweler Shankarlal Jain that he could not open his shop until he learned Marathi.

MNS workers allegedly slapped Jain. Speaking to a Marathi news channel, Deshpande said that she had come to a jewellery shop in Colaba, South Mumbai to buy earrings. During the conversation, the writer insisted that Jain speak to her in Marathi.

The writer said that her shop is in the capital of Maharashtra, whose language is Marathi and he should know the Marathi language. He said that he cannot speak Marathi. I was speaking in Marathi and he was not speaking. Deshpande alleged that since I was not speaking Hindi, he refused to sell me earrings. He arrogantly asked me to leave.

The writer said that he demanded that the jeweler show the necessary license to run the shop, but he refused. Deshpande alleged that when I called the police, they also favored the jeweler. Then I staged a dharna protest. Jain apologized to the writer on Friday morning, who was taken to the hospital after staging dharna for nearly 20 hours.

Meanwhile, MNS workers, who had reached the spot to express solidarity with Deshpande, slapped the jeweler. MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande told the channel, “We came here to support the writer. We have taught the jeweler the lesson of being egoistic. We got him to apologize.’