Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 6 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has demanded a sedition case be registered against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi for his remarks that “people coming to Mumbai don’t have to learn Marathi.
“A sedition case should be registered against Bhaiyyaji Joshi,” Uddhav Thackeray told reporters.
Joshi, speaking at a program in Mumbai on Wednesday, said that those coming to Mumbai need not learn Marathi. He also said that Gujarati is the “language of the Ghatkopar area in Mumbai.” His remark sparked outrage, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray accusing him of attempting to divide Maharashtra and disrespecting its linguistic and cultural identity.
“Constantly we see that we from Koshyari to Koratkar to Solapurkar – all of them have been insulting Maharashtra, Maharashtra’s heroes and Maharashtra’s gods. If you see Mr Koshyari, Mr Koratkar and Solapurkar – they have insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. Today, Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi has insulted Marathi. This will not be tolerated. I challenge him to say something like this in Tamil Nadu or Gujarat. But only because he wants to divide Maharashtra, he is coming and doing this. This is the thought process of Sangh,” Aaditya Thackeray said.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis emphasized that the language of Mumbai and the whole state is Marathi.
“In Mumbai, Maharashtra, and the State government’s language is Marathi, and people who live here should learn it. Marathi is a part of the state’s culture and identity, and it is the duty of every citizen to learn it,” Devendra Fadnavis said in the Assembly.
The Maharashtra Assembly was adjourned for five minutes today after a heated debated broke out between the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) over the Marathi language issue.
After the Chief Minister’s statement, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the BJP members in the House got into a verbal duel that escalated to such an extent that the Speaker was forced to adjourn proceedings for five minutes.
Congress leader Nana Patole criticized him for shifting focus from critical issues like farmer distress and unemployment in Maharashtra.
“It is their government, it is RSS’s government. Today, farmers’ crops are drying up in Maharashtra. Can’t RSS give suggestions to the government on this?” Patole said.
This comes amid an ongoing war of words between Tamil Nadu and the Centre over the three-language policy. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has objected to what he describes as the “Hindi Imposition” on the state. (ANI)
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