MUMBAI, July 5 -- It's one thing to take pride in the Marathi language, but hooliganism or assaulting someone for not speaking it is unacceptable, said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. Fadnavis was reacting to the assault on a shop owner in Mira Road, by party workers of the opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Playing the language card, as they have often done in the past, MNS workers slapped and punched the owner of a sweet mart on June 29, when he said he couldn't speak Marathi. They also threatened to "break and burn down" his shop. The incident prompted a massive protest in Mira Road, which has a strong Gujarati and Marwari population. Shops were shut in many places on Thursday, and traders and shop owners marched in large numbers, condemning the MNS attack. In his first public reaction to the incident, Fadnavis told the media at Vidhan Bhavan on Friday, "Marathi should be spoken in Maharashtra, and there is nothing wrong in expecting people to speak the language, but forcing others to speak Marathi and assaulting them if they cannot speak Marathi is unacceptable." He added, "Similarly, it would be unfair if a Marathi businessman working in another state was treated like this for failing to speak the local language. I am reiterating our stand, that hooliganism in the name of language, and taking the law into our own hands will not be tolerated." The attack in Mira Road came only days after the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) got the BJP-led Mahayuti government to back down on making Hindi the third language in primary schools in Maharashtra. Calling it a victory for "Marathi pride", the two opposition parties are now pushing the Marathi agenda ahead of local body elections in the state later this year. On Friday, Fadnavis chose his words carefully. In an oblique reference to the opposition to Hindi as the third language in schools, he remarked, "Marathi people cannot have so much hatred against other languages." Cautioning against linguistic chauvinism, he said, "Even I am Marathi." Fadnavis accused opposition leaders of raising "non-issues" as they had lost the connection with the people. "If they really have a love of Marathi, they should promote it, help others to learn it, and first send their children to Marathi-medium schools." He cautioned the opposition against assuming they were the torchbearers of Marathi pride. "Marathi people have stood by us (the Mahayuti government) and we received 51% votes in the assembly elections because of the Marathi manoos. Marathi people are with us, and will remain with us," Fadnavis said....