Senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi stirred a controversy after asserting that knowing Marathi was not necessary to live in Mumbai amid a raging language row that has divided India's north and the south. Joshi's remarks at an event in Maharashtra's Ghatkopar invited strong criticism from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress.
"Mumbai doesn't have a single language. Each part of Mumbai has a different language. The Ghatkopar area's language is Gujarati. So if you are residing in Mumbai, it is not necessary that you have to learn Marathi," Joshi said. Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha was present on stage during Joshi's speech.
The senior RSS leader's remarks come at a time when the BJP-led Maharashtra government has made Marathi compulsory in primary and secondary schools affiliated with ICSE and CBSE boards to promote the local language. Political parties like the Shiv Sena and Raj Thaceray's MNS have been aggressively pushing for the use of Marathi in daily business.
There have also been attacks on individuals who refused to speak Marathi in recent months in Maharahstra.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut was quick to latch on to Joshi's remarks to attack the RSS, which he referred to as the BJP's "policymaker".
Addressing a press conference in Thane, Raut said, "BJP's policymaker and RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi came to Mumbai yesterday and said that Marathi isn't the language of the capital (Mumbai). Who gave him this right? Can you go to Kolkata and say that Bengali isn't their language? Can you go to Lucknow and say this in front of Yogi (Adityanath) that Hindi isn't their language? Can you go to Chennai and say their language isn't Tamil?"
Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray also chimed in, saying Marathi "is our language and our pride". "Absolutely not possible, the language of Mumbai is Marathi," he said.
Congress leader Nana Patole said the RSS and the BJP were diverting attention from issues like farmers and employment by igniting such debates on languages.
"Today, farmers' crops are drying up in Maharashtra. Can't the RSS give suggestions to the government on this? Is the RSS not concerned about unemployment in Maharashtra? RSS and BJP are diverting attention from the main issues by creating such debates," Patole said.
The development comes at a time when a row has erupted in Tamil Nadu between the ruling DMK and the Centre over the 'three-language formula' in the New Education Policy (NEP).
While the DMK and its allies have long viewed the move as an attempt to impose Hindi on southern states, the Centre has argued that the policy was meant to ensure that youth get employment across regions.
Source: India Today