Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers hit a manager at a multiplex in Pune after an argument broke out over pricey food items on June 28. The video that is being circulated online, shows that the manager was slapped multiple times and was being verbally intimidated by the MNS workers. The party members, who were being led by an MNS leader, were protesting against the overpriced items sold at the movie theatre.
The workers justified their actions, claiming that they acted after the Bombay High Court asked the state a few days ago if exorbitant prices of eatables at multiplexes can be regulated. Kishor Shinde, a former corporator and MNS leader from Pune told ANI, “The (Bombay) High Court had asked why popcorn worth Rs 5 was being sold for Rs 250 at movie theatres. The court had asked whether the prices can be regulated. When we went to the multiplex, we asked the staff if they had seen the news. They claimed to not know how to read Marathi and said they didn’t know anything about this. We showed them what the high court had said and asked them to call the management committee so that we could speak to them about reducing the prices. They refused to reduce the prices and told us that it was the management’s decision. They were speaking to us in a manner we did not like. So we dealt with the situation MNS-style.”
The MNS-style of doling out ‘justice’ is infamous, as the party’s workers have, on multiple occasions, indulged in vandalism. In March, they took down signboards of establishments that did not display Marathi signage. They also destroyed names of shops written in Gujarati.
MNS members also vandalised stalls run by illegal hawkers outside several railway stations in October last year. They broke stalls and damaged items after giving them a 15-day deadline to vacate the area.
