India, July 3 -- Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday issued a stern warning amid the escalating language controversy in Maharashtra, asserting that any disrespect towards Marathi or the state would not be accepted.

Aaditya Thackeray also dismissed media reports claiming shop owners were slapped and forced to apologise for refusing to speak Marathi at party leader Rajan Vichare's office.

"We want that our mother tongue Marathi is not insulted and no language is forcefully imposed," Aaditya Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai.

"We don't want anybody to take the law into their hands, but when it is the other way round and Marathi or Maharashtra is insulted, things can escalate..."

According to Thackeray, he spoke with Raj...