A controversy erupted in Pune after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers humiliated influencer Mahesh Mote for allegedly mocking party chief Raj Thackeray online. The workers tracked Mote down, smeared black ink on his face, and forced him to balance slippers on his head. They then made him record a tearful apology before a photograph of Thackeray.
A controversy has erupted in Pune after social media influencer Mahesh Mote was allegedly humiliated by workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) over a reel that they said mocked party chief Raj Thackeray. According to NDTV, Mote was allegedly caught by MNS workers, taken to the party's public relations office and made to apologise before a photograph of Raj Thackeray.
The incident reportedly involved several acts of humiliation. MNS workers allegedly smeared black ink on Mote's face, made him perform sit-ups with slippers placed on his head and forced him to prostrate before Thackeray's photograph. He was subsequently made to record an apology video.
In the video, Mote is seen with folded hands, crying as he apologises to Raj Thackeray and MNS workers. He described his apology as "unconditional" and said he regretted his remarks.
Watch the video here:
Mote said: "I inadvertently said something wrong about Raj Saheb, and I also mistakenly spoke inappropriately about Shubham Dada and other MNS office-bearers. Today, I deeply regret my mistake. Because of this reel, I have found myself in this predicament. I sincerely apologise to the MNS party and to all of you."
MNS Hadapsar Assembly constituency sub-divisional president Shubham Jagdale alleged that Mote had used extremely abusive language about Raj Thackeray in a video posted around 15 days earlier. Mote had reportedly been in Kerala for around 15-20 days before returning to Pune. According to Jagdale, MNS workers learned that Mote was in the Katraj area, located him at a park and took him to the MNS public relations office.
Jagdale described what happened at the office as "MNS style", saying Mote was made to lie down before Thackeray's portrait and apologise. He also referred to the treatment as "Mahaprasad", a phrase he used while describing the party's response.
"We brought him to our office and made him lie down before a portrait of the respected Raj Saheb Thackeray and demanded an apology. In true MNS style, we gave him a fitting reply in our own language - something you might even call 'Mahaprasad'," Jagdale said. He further stated that anyone making such remarks about Raj Thackeray would receive a similar response.
The incident has since drawn attention online, particularly because videos showing Mote's humiliation and subsequent apology have circulated on social media. The reported incident has also raised questions about the manner in which political workers responded to content they considered objectionable.
