Resorting to violence over Marathi unacceptable: Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said while there was nothing wrong in expecting people to speak Marathi in the state it was unacceptable to resort to violence for its insistence and that one cannot be obstinate about it reported news agency PTIHe also warned of legal action against those taking the law into their hands over the issueThe CMs remarks came in response to a recent incident in which Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS workers assaulted a food stall owner in Thane districts Bhayandar for not speaking Marathi and a businessman in Mumbai issuing a statement declaring he would not speak Marathi despite having lived in the city for many yearsYou can ask people to speak Marathi in Maharashtra but you cannot be obstinate about Marathi Fadnavis told reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan the state legislature complex in MumbaiMarathi people cannot have so much hatred against other languages he addedCautioning against linguistic chauvinism he said Even I am Marathi There are Marathi people working in other states If they get similar treatment there then it is not fair Whoever takes the law into their hands will face legal action reported PTIHe criticised the selective outrage over languages and said I sometimes wonder how these people embrace English but create controversy over Hindi What sort of thought process is thisCalling for constructive promotion of the language Fadnavis said If you are truly proud of Marathi then speak Marathi Encourage others to speak Marathi Start classes to teach Marathi Why do you send your children to schools where Marathi is taught as the third language Send them to Marathi medium schoolsAccording to him the police have taken action against MNS workers who manhandled a businessman in Thane who could not speak in MarathiSpeaking about the withdrawal of two government resolutions GRs linked to the implementation of the threelanguage policy amid a growing chorus against the introduction of the Hindi language in Maharashtra schools from classes 1 to 5 Fadnavis said the opposition was being opportunisticThe two parties seem very happy with the cancellation but people are aware that when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister it was his government that accepted the NEP formed a committee and implemented the same decisions he said reported PTIWe have now formed a committee that will look into all the aspects Whatever is good for our students the committee will recommend and we will implement it he said reported PTIOn Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde raising Jai Gujarat slogan at an event attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune Fadnavis defended his colleagueHe was attending an event of the Gujarati community because he was invited there His statement was in their context It doesnt mean he loves Gujarat more than Maharashtra the CM said reported PTIHe pointed out that such interpretations were shortsightedA few years ago Sharad Pawar had gone to Chikodi in Karnataka and raised the slogans of Jai Maharashtra Jai Karnataka Does that mean he loves Karnataka more than Maharashtra Fadnavis asked reported PTIThis kind of narrow view towards the Marathi language is not good Marathi language and Marathi people have contributed immensely across fields There were prominent Marathi personalities in our countrys freedom movement as well he added reported PTISpeaking about the status of the proposed NagpurGoa Shaktipeeth Expressway the CM said Most of the landrelated issues have been resolved Some farmers in Sangli have raised objections We are considering a realignment in Kolhapur The opposition to the project now is purely politicalWith inputs from PTI