Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday slammed the BJP-led Maharashtra government for the alleged imposition of Hindi as he shared the stage with his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) boss Uddhav Thackeray at a joint rally in Mumbai’s Worli Dome.
The two brothers – who parted ways nearly 20 years ago over political disputes – came together for the joint rally they had announced to celebrate their “victory” after the Maharashtra government revoked two government resolutions (GRs) introducing Hindi as the third language to be taught in primary schools in the state.
Speaking at the rally, Raj Thackeray alleged that it was an experiment to test Maharashtra and that if the move had not been opposed, they (the BJP government) would have carved Mumbai out of the state.
“We have nothing against Hindi — no language is bad. It takes a lot of effort to build a language…But remember, during the Maratha Empire, we ruled over many states and never imposed Marathi on them. Today, this is an experiment. They are testing how far they can go. If we hadn’t objected, they would have gone as far as carving Mumbai out of Maharashtra,” said Raj Thackeray.
He also questioned what would be the third language in north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. “I asked Minister Dada Bhuse — what’s the third language for UP, Bihar, or Rajasthan? All Hindi-speaking states are behind us in development. Still, we are being forced to learn Hindi. Why?”
He claimed that Maharashtra Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse came to meet him over the Hindi Row. “I told him, I’ll listen to you, but I won’t be convinced,” he said.
The MNS chief also stirred a controversy with his provocative remarks, calling upon people to hit those who do “useless drama” over not knowing Marathi.
“Whether someone is Gujarati or from anywhere else, they must know Marathi. But don’t beat people just because they don’t speak Marathi. However, if someone shows useless drama, hit them below the ears,” he said, adding “But don’t record a video. Let the person beaten up speak — you don’t need to go around bragging that you beat someone.”