Mumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) Against the backdrop of the Maharashtra government’s Marathi proficiency drive, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Tuesday alleged that some leaders were trying to vitiate the atmosphere in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, eyeing upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
He asserted that no taxi or auto-rickshaw driver had been fined even Rs 500, but alleged that some people were deliberately spreading claims of drivers being slapped with fines ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000.
“An attempt is being made to deliberately create a controversy between Hindi and Marathi in society and spoil the atmosphere,” Sarnaik told reporters at Mantralaya, appealing to people not to believe rumours.
The Shiv Sena leader’s remarks came a day after widespread fear among auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers over rumoured steep fines linked to the Marathi proficiency drive erupted into street protests in parts of Mumbai, forcing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to step in and address the panic.
Sarnaik said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam, the party’s north Indian face, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi, auto-rickshaw and taxi union leader Shashank Rao and others had contacted him over the issue.
So far, no political party or auto-rickshaw and taxi unions have opposed the state government’s drive to make “working knowledge” of Marathi mandatory for non-Marathi-speaking drivers, he said.
But the minister alleged that deliberate attempts were being made to create a Marathi-Hindi controversy.
“Some people are trying to spoil the atmosphere in Mumbai and Thane because there are elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” Sarnaik said.
He also alleged that some leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were deliberately making videos showing auto-rickshaws being transported to North Indian states by trains and posting clips with songs like “Hum To Chale Pardes”, even though the vehicles were operating in Maharashtra.
Seeking to allay drivers’ concerns, Fadnavis on Monday said the objective behind the government drive mandating “working knowledge” of Marathi was not to make the drivers language experts, but to ensure they can communicate in the local language for their work.
He said drivers had already been given additional time to learn the language and asserted that no license had been cancelled.
Sarnaik has warned of action against RTO officials fining autorickshaw and taxi drivers for the Marathi requirement before their one-month deadline to learn the language expires.
He clarified on Monday that the August 12 government resolution stated that RTO officials will issue a month’s notice to autorickshaw and taxi drivers who lack working knowledge of Marathi and grant them time to learn the language.
If they fail to meet the language requirement after a month, their license and badge will be suspended, and drivers will be given three more months to learn Marathi, failing which their license will be cancelled. PTI KK GK
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