Transport Minister to take decision about mandatory Marathi for drivers

Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena said here on Monday that auto rickshaw and taxi drivers who do not know Marathi language will not lose their licenses for the time being and that a decision about the issue will be made on Tuesday.

“An important meeting was held with the representatives of auto rickshaw and taxi drivers in my office at the Transport Ministry. At this meeting, an in-depth discussion was held regarding the state government’s policy on the Marathi language. Everyone is in agreement that public vehicle drivers should know Marathi. Everyone showed their willingness to learn Marathi. However, some have asked for a period of 3 months, 6 months, or an year to learn Marathi language,” Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said.

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“Although an extension has been requested, no decision has been taken. A meeting will be held tomorrow with senior officials of the Transport Department regarding this matter and only then will a decision be taken about giving an extension to drivers to learn the Marathi language. To preserve the Marathi language, passengers also need to communicate in Marathi. The Mahayuti government is always committed to the identity and spread of the Marathi language,” Sarnaik said.

Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam who has projected himself as a champion of Hindi-peaking auto rickshaw and taxi drivers wrote a letter to Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik who is from the same party, requesting his party man to postpone the decision for atleast six months to an year.

According to Nirupam’s letter, giving some more time to the Hindi-speaking driver to learn the Marathi language will ensure that the government’s objective will be fulfilled in a more positive manner. “When a person learns a language, he flourishes, but expectations imposed without giving him time will suppress him,” Nirupam stated in his letter.

In this letter to Sarnaik, Nirupam has claimed that he has “immense respect for the Marathi language, which is the soul of Maharashtra’s identity and culture”. However, Nirupam stated in his letter that there is an atmosphere of anxiety among the Hindi-speaking auto and taxi drivers due to the sudden imposition of Marathi mandatory language on them.

Nirupam stated in his letter that learning any language depends on the ability of the person and it is necessary to give some time to do it. Nirupam’s letter stated that Hindi-speakers who came to Mumbai to earn a living are not opposed to learning Marathi language, but they should be given an opportunity to do so.

However, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande issued a statement that his party was not invited to the meeting held on Monday at the State Transport Ministry because the Fadnavis government is preparing to compromise the position of the Marathi language.

“The state government should announce the date of the decision to make practical Marathi mandatory for rickshaw and taxi drivers. The MNS takes the issue of Marathi. We are firm on this stand. The government should stand firm on the decision taken,” MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.

“This obstinate stand taken by non-Marathi speaking drivers regarding their proposed strike on May 4 against the government’s decision on Marathi language is akin to vitiating the political atmosphere in the state by making it volatile,” MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.

However, Shashank Rao, a union leader of rickshaw and taxi drivers and owners, adopted a cautious approach during Monday’s meeting, stating that while a full-scale strike may not be undertaken on May 4, demonstrations against the government’s Marathi language decision would certainly be held.