The Thackeray cousins may have together thwarted the Maharashtra government’s three-language policy and alleged Hindi imposition, but even with their rumoured getting-together still in the works, a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader’s son is casting a long shadow on their plans with his relentless abuse of a woman, all caught on video!
In the video, the man, identified as Rahil Sheikh, son of MNS leader Javed Sheikh, can be seen sitting bare torso-ed in his car, allegedly drunk, and using his father’s name after the woman confronted him for hitting her car.
\https://www.instagram.com/p/DLx3myyo0ue/?hl=en
The woman in the video is Rajshree More, who had previously made headlines for a video on Marathi-imposition on non-natives, shared the video on her Instagram handle. According to Mumbai police, the incident took place at Vira Desai Road in Andheri West. A FIR has been filed at the Amboli Police Station for negligent driving, for outraging the modesty of women, Rahil has been arrested and his car has been taken under custody.
The video has prompted reactions from the opposition. Shiv Sena Party leader Sanjay Nirupam said the video showed the “real face” of protectors of Marathi culture. Nirupam pointed out Rahil’s intoxication, half-nakedness and hurling abuses at a Marathi woman while bragging of his father’s position contradicts MNS’s unyielding principles.
He further questioned if these are the same MNS members who attack Hindus under Muslim pressure. The MNS is led by Raj Thackeray, the cousin of Uddhav Thackeray who leads the Shiv Sena (UBT).
BJP Mumbai co-convenor Pallavi CT responded to the video, alleging that MNS is dividing Hindus on the basis of language to create a Marathi-Muslim vote bank like Lalu Yadav’s Muslim-Yadav vote bank in Bihar. She questioned if this is the respect the party had for Marathi and Marathi people, alleging that Rahil not only verbally harassed a Marathi women by telling her “to shut up and take the money “ but also insulted an on-duty officer.
Earlier, MNS workers had filed a complaint against Rajshree More over her comments in a now-deleted post criticizing the imposition of Marathi on non-native residents. In that video, More said that rather than targeting migrants over language, Marathi people should focus on learning to work hard. Following a backlash and a complaint, she took down the video and issued an apology.