Mumbai, Sep 15 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday accused MNS chief Raj Thackeray of “selective listening”, and asserted Union Home Minister Amit Shah had only spoken about the state’s multilingual culture, which doesn’t necessarily alter native identity.
Fadnavis’s comments have come after Thackeray took an indirect jab at Shah’s remark that Maharashtra had the country’s most multilingual culture, with Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati, Sindhi, Hindi, Kannada and Warli among the languages spoken and developed here.
Taking to X, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, without naming Shah directly, posted, “A cow does not die from a crow’s curse”.
Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said that Thackeray should have listened to Shah’s entire address before rushing to criticise it.
“Selective listening, selective speaking and reacting only to selective things is wrong,” he said.
Fadnavis clarified that Shah had spoken about the prominence and historical glory of Marathi, advocated for primary education in one’s mother tongue, and merely pointed out Maharashtra’s inclusive character.
Stressing that multilingualism does not compromise regional pride, Fadnavis said speaking multiple languages does not alter one’s native identity.
“Being multilingual does not mean that your mother tongue is different. I am multilingual, but my mother tongue is Marathi,” Fadnavis said.
“I am Marathi, and I will remain Marathi. Nobody can take away my Marathi identity,” he said.
Fadnavis alleged that Shah’s comments praising Marathi were deliberately ignored because acknowledging them would leave critics with little ground to attack him. PTI MR ARU
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