Published 17:58 IST, December 24th 2020
Raj Thackeray summoned by Dindoshi court on Jan 5 after MNS workers tear Amazon posters
On Thursday, MNS president Raj Thackeray has been issued notice by the Dindoshi court over Amazon's plea that their posters were torn by his party workers.
In a big development on Thursday, MNS president Raj Thackeray has been issued notice by the Dindoshi court over Amazon's plea that their posters were torn by his party workers. This comes a day after MNS members tore Amazon posters displayed at a bus stop in Mumbai's Chembur area over the non-inclusion of Marathi as a preferred language in their App. Thackeray was directed to personally remain present in the court on January 5, 2021. His party has commenced the '#No Marathi_No Amazon' campaign on social media to protest the absence of the Marathi language in the Amazon India e-commerce App.
MNS threatens to launch an agitation
In October, MNS threatened to launch an agitation against Amazon and Flipkart for the non-inclusion of Marathi as a preferred language in their Apps. While customers in India can access Amazon services in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, Flipkart is available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages only. In identical letters addressed to the top officials of Amazon and Flipkart, MNS leader Akhil Chitre maintained that it was essential to respect Marathi, which is the official language of Maharashtra.
Claiming that Marathi-speaking customers had been left in the lurch, he affirmed that MNS will not tolerate any insult to the Marathi language in Mumbai. At the same time, Chitre gave a choice to the e-commerce giants to tender an apology and include Marathi in the 'Choose your preferred language' option. Contending that this was a ploy to belittle Marathi by giving preference to South Indian languages, the MNS leader warned that the management shall bear the sole responsibility for the consequences of the "intense agitation".
On Tuesday, the MNS leader wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos requesting him to amicably resolve the issue. While acknowledging that the legal representatives of Amazon had promised to initiate the work to incorporate the Marathi language in a meeting with MNS members, Chitre lamented that the company had filed several injunction suits in Maharashtra. According to him, Amazon's current approach will hamper its growth in the state.
Updated 17:58 IST, December 24th 2020