Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Wednesday said a campaign to teach Marathi to taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers has been underway in the state for the past 105 days and during this period, 165,000 drivers have learned Marathi and received certificates. People coming from other states, alongside those from Maharashtra, should find employment here and Mumbai has the capacity to accommodate everyone, he said, adding, the state language, Marathi, should be promoted and propagated.
The statement from the Maharashtra minister came after some drivers have made videos declaring they will not learn Marathi, challenging the government to do whatever it pleases. Such insolence will not be tolerated, he said.
Here's what Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said
"The government will not tolerate auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers who refuse to learn Marathi and act defiantly, claiming they will not learn the language. Action will be taken against them within the legal framework," Pratap Sarnaik said.
He added that if drivers fail to learn Marathi even after receiving a one-month notice followed by a three-month license suspension, it will be assumed that they harbor hatred towards the Marathi language. In such a scenario, their licenses will be cancelled, he stated.
Action against drivers without Marathi knowledge from Aug 20
Starting from tomorrow, when issuing the mandatory badge to drivers, a check will be conducted to see if they can speak Marathi and the badge will be issued only after this verification, he stated. He also stated that random checks will be conducted by the RTO's flying squad, and these will be video-recorded. “I am acting within the confines of the law; no form of intimidation will be tolerated,” he said.
Pratap Sarnaik on the Chief Minister's authority said the Chief Minister can intervene in the decisions made by ministers as this has been the practice in the past as well. “While functioning within the cabinet, the Chief Minister is the head of both the cabinet and the state. If he deems a minister's decision inappropriate, he certainly has the authority to alter it. That is his prerogative,” he said.
It should be noted that around 7,750 auto-rickshaw drivers across Maharashtra failed the Marathi proficiency exam. As per the data provided by the Maharashtra government, more than 25,000 autorickshaw drivers in Maharashtra are yet to obtain certification under the state government's Marathi language training program. The government has set the deadline for auto-taxi drivers in Maharashtra to learn Marathi as August 15, 2026. State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik last week said there will be no extension of the August 15 deadline for autorickshaw and taxi drivers to learn Marathi.
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