Grocer in Mumbai Provokes Controversy by Requesting Marathi Woman to Speak 'Marwari'

Mumbai, Dec 4 (NationPress) A grocery store owner in south Mumbai inadvertently ignited a political uproar after he reportedly requested a woman customer to communicate in Marwari from now on, citing the impending establishment of a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Maharashtra.

The incident took place on Monday evening when the Marathi woman from the Girgaon area visited the Mahadev Stores located in nearby Khetwadi to purchase groceries. Videos capturing her encounter have since gone viral.

When she began placing her order in Marathi, the shopkeeper surprised her by insisting that she converse in Marwari due to the fact that 'a BJP regime is now taking office in the state.'

“The BJP has now assumed power here… speak Marwari, Marathi will not be accepted here,” the woman recounted, quoting the shop owner, which has provoked outrage on social media.

Notably, the ancient and culturally rich Marathi language was granted the prestigious Classical Language status by the Centre in early October, just prior to the Maharashtra Assembly elections that were dominated by the BJP-MahaYuti alliance.

Fuming over the incident, the woman approached Malabar Hill BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, but claimed she received no response, despite having supported the BJP in the elections.

Undeterred, she turned to the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which quickly came to her aid and summoned the grocer to their office. The shaken shopkeeper, standing with folded hands, acknowledged his error and apologized to the woman and to Marathis in Mumbai for his misstep.

MNS activists even delivered a couple of tight slaps to the grocer as he expressed remorse for his comments to the woman seated beside him.

The episode drew strong reactions from MNS leaders and allies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), including Sanjay Raut, Sushma Andhare, and Kishore Tiwari, along with members from the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP).

As the situation escalated late Tuesday, Lodha, who is also of Rajasthani origin, rushed to defend the Marathi language on the eve of the government formation process today (Dec. 04), attempting damage control amid speculation of his return as a Minister.

Lodha condemned the incident of inciting ‘linguistic hatred’ in the Khetwadi area of Girgaon, stating that such actions carried out in the name of the BJP would not be tolerated and called for measures against the involved shopkeeper.

“Marathi is the mother tongue of Maharashtra, representing our identity! If anyone is coercing you to communicate in a particular language other than Marathi, that is unacceptable. Mumbai belongs to everyone, but it primarily belongs to the Marathi people, so we demand action against those promoting linguistic hatred,” Lodha stated.

Nonetheless, while the controversy left a bitter taste among the affluent Rajasthani community in Mumbai and beyond, many netizens praised the MNS for their swift response to uphold Marathi pride and dignity.