Pune (Maharashtra) [India], June 29 : Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane on Sunday came down heavily on the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut over his party's call to protest against "Hindi imposition" in the state, saying that he won't even "get Diwali bonus" if he doesn't "speak in favour" of Uddhav Thackeray.
"Sanjay Raut is a salaried person. He takes a monthly salary from Saamana. He will obviously speak in favour of (Uddhav) Thackeray. He won't even get a Diwali bonus if he doesn't do that," Rane told reporters here.
Intensifying his attack, he said that these people only wanted to divide Hindus on the issue of language while asserting that there was no Hindi imposition in Maharashtra. Rane further lashed out at Javed Akhtar and Rahul Gandhi for not speaking in Marathi.
"Why isn't Hindi imposition any concern for Javed Akhtar, Aamir Khan and Rahul Gandhi? Just try to get them to speak in Marathi. Tell them to try taking out their protest from Mohammed Ali Road or Behrampada; they all speak Hindi. If they truly love Marathi, then have tomorrow's Azan recited in Marathi. Then, we will believe that they have respect for the Marathi language. We are constantly saying there is no Hindi imposition in Maharashtra; now, should we roam around with it written on our chests? These people only want to divide Hindus on the issue of language," Rane said.
Amid the ongoing debate over the Maharashtra government's alleged move to make Hindi compulsory across all classes, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday stated that Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray would protest against the "forceful imposition" of the language in the state's education system.
Raut stated that the government resolution would be publicly burned.
"Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will protest against the forceful imposition of Hindi in the state education. We will burn the government resolution released today along with the public... Main program is in Mumbai... Uddhav Thackeray will be present in this program..." Raut said while addressing the media.
Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde criticised the Shiv Sena (UBT) and accused the party of practising "double-faced" politics.
Shinde said that people who practise double-faced politics have no right to demand the resignation of Minister Dada Bhuse.
"The then Chief Minister of Maharashtra had made mandatory the teaching of three languages - Marathi, English, and Hindi, which was recommended by the Raghunath Mashelkar Committee... When they were in power, their opinion was different, and now that they are not in power, they are responding differently... The people who practise double-faced politics have no right to demand the resignation of Minister Dada Bhuse...Our government made Marathi mandatory in schools," Shinde told ANI.
Shinde's remarks came in response to criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who demanded the resignation of School Education Minister Dada Bhuse over the "imposition" of Hindi in state schools.