Devendra Fadnavis defends Eknath Shinde's 'Jai Gujarat' call: Doesn't diminish...

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has come out in support of his deputy Eknath Shinde, who drew backlash for his 'Jai Maharashtra, Jai Gujarat' slogan at an event in Pune, saying it did not diminish the Shiv Sena leader's love for Maharashtra.

"There is no need to create so much ruckus over it. We are all Indians. If someone questions Shinde ji's love for Maharashtra because of this, that's narrow thinking," Fadnavis said.

Citing an incident wherein NCP founder Sharad Pawar had raised 'Jai Maharashtra, Jai Karnataka' slogan, Fadnavis said, "On an earlier occasion, when the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled, Sharad Pawar ji had said, 'Jai Maharashtra, Jai Karnataka. Does this mean that Sharad Pawar loves Karnataka more than Maharashtra?"

The Chief Minister also condemned the recent assault on a shopkeeper by workers from Raj Thackeray's MNS for speaking in Hindi and said that action will be taken against those who assault people speaking other languages.

"I want to be very clear. Taking pride in Marathi and assaulting people are different. If someone tries to assault people speaking other languages, the police will take action. Action has already been taken in this incident," Fadnavis said.

"I am surprised that these people appreciate English and act against Hindi," he added.

In a video that surfaced on July 1, three men were seen entering a sweets shop and confronting the owner over his language and beating him up. The assaulters also warned the shopkeeper that he wouldn't be allowed to run a business in the area.

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(with inputs from ANI)