Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 17 : Amid the ongoing row over the imposition of Hindi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray raised strong objections to the Maharashtra government's proposed three-language policy on Thursday, questioning its rationale and expressing concern over the plan to implement it from the primary school level.
"We are opposing the imposition of a three-language policy from the first class. Today, if you visit schools, it (three-language) is (implemented) from the fifth (class)...What kind of law have you (Maharashtra government) come up with, making it mandatory to learn three languages from the first class?" Aaditya Thackeray told reporters.
His remarks came shortly after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.
"... Today we gave him a compilation of why there should not be a three-language policy from the first class as written by many journalists and editors...," he former Minister added.
The meeting, which lasted for approximately 20 minutes, was held in the office of Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde.
According to the Shiv Sena (UBT), Thackeray met the Chief Minister to hand over a compilation of news articles opposing the introduction of Hindi as a third language in Maharashtra, citing concerns of alleged linguistic imposition.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief clarified that his party is not against the Hindi language but accused certain groups of comparing Marathi people to terrorists and undermining Marathi identity.
The meeting came a day after the Maharashtra Chief Minister took a veiled dig at Uddhav Thackeray, inviting him to join the treasury benches (ruling side) in the Vidhan Parishad, stating that his government doesn't have any "scope" to come into Opposition until 2029.
Fadnavis was speaking on the occasion of Uddhav Thackeray's farewell from the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad.
"At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (Opposition). Uddhav Ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (Opposition)," Fadnavis said.
On July 5, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held a joint rally called 'Awaaz Marathicha' at the Worli Dome in Mumbai. The event marked the first time in nearly twenty years that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the stage. The rally came after the Maharashtra government scrapped two Government Resolutions (GRs) that aimed to introduce Hindi as a third compulsory language.
The now-withdrawn orders, related to the implementation of the three-language formula in state schools, had triggered widespread protests from Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction).