India, July 19 -- A day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis insisted on a three-language formula in the state's primary schools, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray called it a "suicidal move".

"This time not only shops but even schools would be closed," he threatened, while addressing a rally at Mira Road on Friday, where MNS workers had assaulted a shop-owner for not speaking in Marathi. "If the government wants to die by suicide, they should do so," Thackeray remarked. "We announced a morcha (planned earlier by Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS to protest the purported imposition of Hindi) and they withdrew the decision. Why is Maharashtra's chief minister hell-bent on making Hindi compulsory?"

"They are testing the waters....