MNS workers ask private bank to install Marathi board at its Thane branch manager agrees

Thane, Apr 3 (PTI) The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Thursday said it secured an assurance from the manager of a private bank in Thane to install Marathi signage at their branch, and removed an English board as the party stepped up its campaign to establish the primacy of the state’s official language.
MNS Thane city president Ravindra More, along with senior party members and activists, visited Karnataka Bank's branch in Vartak Nagar and presented their demand to replace English signage with Marathi one to the manager.
"We brought it to their attention and explained what is expected of us in Marathi. The branch manager assured us that all necessary steps will be taken at the earliest," More stated.
Following the campaign, the bank assured they would put up a Marathi board within a week, an official spokesman of the MNS Thane unit said.
Additionally, as part of the protest, the English board at the branch was removed by MNS workers as the Raj Thackeray-led party pushed ahead with its campaign to promote Marathi in public and commercial spaces, including banks.
As a symbolic gesture, Marathi 'Barakhadi (alphabet) books were handed over to the branch manager by MNS representatives.
The party warned that if the bank fails to install the Marathi signage within the promised timeline, they will intensify their movement.
The stir comes after MNS workers confronted two managers of different nationalised banks in Thane and Pune districts for not using Marathi while communicating with customers.
The incidents occurred on Wednesday at Ambernath town in Thane and at Lonavala, a popular hill station in Pune, and their videos have gone viral on social media platforms.

In Lonavala, the police registered a non-cognisable offence against an MNS worker for slapping a bank employee during their conversation with the manager, an official said.

In the video, MNS workers are seen arguing with the manager of the State Bank of India's Lonavala branch for not using Marathi language, and warning him to communicate in the local language.
When a Marathi-speaking employee of the bank tries to intervene, some party workers are seen slapping him and pushing him out of the cabin.
In the incident that took place in Ambernath town adjoining Mumbai, MNS activists entered the Bank of Maharashtra's branch and aggressively confronted the manager, accusing him of failing to use the official state language Marathi while interacting with customers.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)