Jaipur, Jul 16 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said that “bullying” non-Marathi speakers in Maharashtra is wrong and the Devendra Fadnavis government will not tolerate such incidents.
“Those who indulge in such bullying will be taught a lesson,” Athawale said, asserting that the stance of leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on the issue is against Balasaheb Thackeray’s vision.
“I said that this is wrong. Knowing Marathi is fine. Telling them to learn Marathi is okay, but bullying them, slapping them, that is not right.
Action has been taken by the police against those involved in such illegal actions, and “our government will not allow such bullying”, the leader from Maharashtra said at a press conference here.
He said that wrong politics is being done in the name of Marathi, noting that Mumbai is the financial capital of India and home to people from Rajasthan, Gujarat and many south India states.
“It is not about opposing Hindi. There was a concern that teaching Hindi from first grade is not right. Balasaheb Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena so that Marathi people could get justice.
“However, what Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are doing is against Balasaheb Thackeray’s vision. We also love Marathi. Bullying can be answered with bullying. In Maharashtra, there is Devendra Fadnavis’s government and those who do such bullying will be taught a lesson,” the minister said.
He said that non-Marathi people also contribute significantly to Mumbai’s growth. “Major industrialists like Tata, Birla, Ambani and Adani have played a big role,” he said, adding that such incidents damage Mumbai’s status.
The Union Minister said that “around 60 per cent of people in Mumbai are non-Marathi. Of these, 80 per cent speak Marathi, but 20 per cent don’t. Hindi is our national language. Our government will not allow such bullying”.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Republican Party of India (A) chief said that he should continue in the post till 2029.
“It is my party’s view that Modi should remain the prime minister till 2029. What RSS says about retiring at 75, I don’t know. But under Modi’s leadership, the government has come back… we need Modi as PM till 2029,” he said.
On the controversy over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Athawale said there should be an investigation to see if Bangladeshi nationals have enrolled in the voters’ list with changed names.
“There is a suspicion that Bangladeshi people may be living in Bihar with changed names. We should find out where they were born.
“If they were born in Bihar, there is no problem. But if they were born in Bangladesh and haven’t taken citizenship, they should be removed from the voters’ list,” he said.
Athawale said it is a democratic right of opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi “to seek power”.
“Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can have his views. Anyone has the right to come to power in a democracy. The BJP was also once in opposition and came to power,” he said, replying to queries on his party’s history of switching alliances. PTI AG RT
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