Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 : After the Maharashtra government revoked its resolutions issued on April 16 and June 17 on the three-language policy, opposition parties including Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), praised the "Marathi Unity" that forced the government to withdraw its decision.
Earlier today, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders held a protest against the Maharashtra government's three-language policy outside the Legislative Assembly.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said, "The unity of the Marathi people forced the government to withdraw this decision. The Thackeray brothers stood together on this issue, but it was the collective strength of the Marathi community that led to this reversal."
NCP-SCP leader Jayant Patil also said, "The people of Maharashtra know that Hindi is an optional language. But making it compulsory did not work out in Maharashtra. That's why the government had to withdraw its GR on the three-language policy..."
The move faced strong opposition from Marathi-speaking groups, prompting the government to retract the decision. MVA leaders held banners with slogans opposing the three-language policy.
Meanwhile, NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar slammed the Maharashtra government over the three-language policy and said that when Marathi journalists and social organisations united, the government had to withdraw the resolution.
Speaking to reporters outside the Maharashtra Assembly, Pawar said, "Many political parties opposed the GR released by the Maharashtra government regarding the three-language policy. Marathi journalists and social organisations were also against it. When all of them got united on this matter, it overpowered the government, and finally, the state government decided to withdraw the GR on the three-language policy."
He added that the opposition is not against the Hindi language, but rather against the compulsory teaching of Hindi in primary schools.
"We are not against the Hindi language. However, we are against the compulsory teaching of Hindi in primary education," Rohit Pawar said.
The Maharashtra Government cancelled two orders on the implementation of the three-language policy on Sunday, following heavy criticism from the opposition, who accused it of "imposing Hindi" on the state's people.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, informing about the cancellation of the resolutions that were passed on April 16 and June 17, announced that a committee will be formed to discuss the implementation of the three-language formula in the state.
"A committee under Dr Narendra Jadhav will be formed to discuss the implementation of the three-language formula in the state... Until the committee submits its report, both government resolutions (of April 16 and June 17) have been cancelled by the government," Devendra Fadnavis said.