Maha govt, Raj Thackeray on same page for respect of Marathi language: Minister Uday Samant

Mumbai, April 5 (IANS) Minister of Marathi Language Uday Samant on Saturday said the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray share the same view that everyone living in the state should be able to speak Marathi, while also respecting all other languages. 

“Respect for Marathi should be maintained, just as we respect other languages,” Samant said after meeting Raj Thackeray in Mumbai here on Saturday.

The meeting comes amid MNS’s renewed push to assert Marathi identity ahead of civic polls across major cities, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Samant said, “Raj Thackeray had invited me, as the Minister for Marathi Language, to discuss ongoing developments regarding the use of Marathi in the state. Before coming, I informed the Shiv Sena chief and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and took his permission.”

Samant said Raj Thackeray had shared suggestions on how to ensure institutions, particularly banks, implement the use of Marathi in day-to-day business.

“I will personally speak to Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and CM Devendra Fadnavis. We will work towards improvements,” he said.

“Raj Thackeray and the state government have a common stand -- Marathi must be respected, and all residents of Maharashtra should learn the language. I will call a meeting of all committees in the state to ensure that institutions dealing with the public, like banks, conduct their business in Marathi. We will then decide what action needs to be taken,” Samant added.

The meeting took place a day after CM Fadnavis warned that while insisting on the use of Marathi is not wrong, taking the law into one’s hands in the process would not be tolerated. “Those who do so will be dealt with appropriately,” he said, responding to incidents of aggressive promotion of Marathi by MNS cadres.

Samant acknowledged that many languages are spoken in Maharashtra and the state has welcomed people from different backgrounds. “We respect them, and MNS does too. But bullying and injustice toward Marathi speakers must stop. Raj Thackeray suggested that Marathi should be given legal protection,” he said.

He also reiterated that banks and institutions that engage daily with Marathi-speaking citizens must use the language in their services. “A meeting of the police department and district collectors will be held in the next eight to ten days. A committee has already been formed to promote the Marathi language, headed by the respective district collectors. These committees will decide on the necessary action against institutions that neglect Marathi.”

Meanwhile, MNS spokesperson Sandip Deshpande took a sharper tone, saying on X, “Those who do not want to speak Marathi can leave Maharashtra. Those who refuse to speak Marathi while living in the state are traitors.”

He added that MNS’ stance -- that Marathi must be respected in Maharashtra just like local languages are in other states -- has found support among linguistic identity organizations in other regions.

“Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, for instance, has extended full support to Raj Thackeray’s stand,” Deshpande said.