Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers have been visiting nationalised bank branches across Maharashtra, including Thane and Pune and assaulting employees over language. MNS workers are using muscle power for not using Marathi during communication with customers, this led to one of the bank employee to write to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking protection and action against the culprits.
Bank of Maharashtra chairman officers Association Rajeev Tamhane wrote a letter to the state CM on Thursday, April 3. In a letter Tamhane said its staff come from various states and backgrounds also hold transferable jobs, it would be practically impossible to learn local language, reported TOI.
"Some antisocial elements are indulging in acts such as threatening and beating up bank officials. We condemn such criminal activity, impacting the day-to-day functioning and customer service of the banks," Tamhane wrote in a letter on Thursday accessed by TOI.
"We request that the bank management, including managing directors (MDs), chief executive officers (CEOs), executive directors (EDs), and zonal managers, be directed to take concrete steps in safeguarding bank employees from such threats," Tamhane said. "If immediate action is not taken, we will be left with no choice but to escalate our protest, including strikes and other legal measures."
Several incidents of bank staff being beaten by MNS workers in the wake of Raj Thackeray's call have been reported in recent days. Thackeray reiterated his part's stand on the Marathi language at his Gudi Padwa rally on March 30. He said it is compulsory to use local language at official work. Since his speech, MNS activists have been assaulting professionals at their workplaces for not speaking or disrespecting the Marathi language.
In one instance, MNS workers were seen slapping a State Bank of India (SBI) branch employee. Maharashtra CM reacted to the incident and said demanding local language is not wrong, but taking law and order in his hands, then the action will be taken against it.
In a video that recently went viral from Ambernath, MNS workers entered a Bank of Maharashtra branch and intimidated the manager, accusing him of failing to use the official state language while interacting with customers. In a viral clip, it can be seen that an MNS worker is banging a desk, shoving a computer monitor and shouting at the man, demanding that he converse in Marathi. The bank manager appeared unfazed and told the MNS workers that as part of an all-India service, he was permitted to use any permissible language in official communications.