Hindi "imposition" has become a hot-button issue in Maharashtra, the fallout of which is incidents of Hindi-speaking residents being harassed and assaulted for not speaking Marathi. The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), long accused of fanning linguistic chauvinism, came under fire after videos surfaced of cadres roughing up migrant workers .

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday defended his party, arguing that sporadic incidents cannot be blamed on the organisation as a whole. Speaking at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai, the Yuva Sena chief downplayed the violence.

"You can't control every sporadic incident, when someone gets angry at someone else over abuse. There will be a natural reaction, if at all. It's a sporadic reaction," Thackeray said.

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