Our Bureau
Mumbai
The language debate in Maharashtra has intensified in the past few days after the whole fiasco of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers assaulting a shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi. Bharatiya Janata Party’s MP, Kangana Ranaut has spoken on the matter stating that this is hurting the spirit of unity in the country.
Ranaut, who is a MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, moved to Maharashtra in the early 2000s to make a career in the film industry. Having stayed in Maharashtra for so long Ranaut was shocked by the incident and spoke on the matter. She stated that all the citizens in the country are united and these types of incidents just disrupt the unity in our nation.
“We must stay away from anything that divides our country. People in our country try to connect with each other in different ways. Such actions disrupt their efforts. So many people come here for tourism, they want to know how Paharis speak. When we travel, we want to know how people in the South speak. We must preserve the spirit of unity in the country. People should not be divided in the name of language,” she said.
Ranaut recently visited the Siraj Valley in Mandi to meet with the families of those who were affected by the recent cloudburst in the valley. She consoled those who were affected, assuring them that teams are working tirelessly to make the situation better.
The BJP MP said, “Our entire team, from NDRF to the Army, is engaged in rescue operations. I was monitoring the situation throughout the night. Many lives have been lost, and some people are still missing. The damage is extensive, but our teams are working tirelessly.”
The valley along with the state has been seriously affected by the monsoon this year. Around 74 people have lost their lives in the state this year. Thunag, which was the worst-hit area of the state reported that 10 people were dead and around 24 went missing.
