Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has spoken out on the ongoing controversy over the requirement to learn Marathi, saying the issue is being politicised and assuring that the state government will not allow anyone's livelihood to be affected because of language. He said the licences of North Indian auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers working in Maharashtra are not being cancelled. He also made it clear that the government is willing to extend the deadline for drivers to learn Marathi if they need more time.
Fadnavis said the government's only expectation is that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers should learn basic conversational Marathi. "If auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers need more time to learn Marathi, the government is ready to extend the deadline as well. Our only expectation is that they should learn conversational Marathi," Fadnavis said. He stressed that no one would be treated unfairly because of language and said the government would ensure that people's livelihoods are not affected.
The Chief Minister's remarks come amid growing opposition from non-Marathi auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, who have been protesting against action by the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
Non-Marathi drivers protest RTO action in Maharashtra
Non-Marathi auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers have alleged that political considerations are behind the government's action over the Marathi language requirement. The situation became particularly tense in Kurla, where auto-rickshaw drivers launched a protest by stopping work. The drivers have been opposing what they see as pressure to meet the Marathi language requirement and have raised concerns over the impact of the government's action on their livelihoods. However, Fadnavis sought to assure the affected drivers that the government would not take any step that results in injustice on the basis of language.
Fadnavis targets Congress over women's reservation and delimitation
Fadnavis also launched a sharp attack on the Congress and senior party leader P Chidambaram over the issues of women's reservation and delimitation. The Maharashtra Chief Minister accused the Congress of misleading people on the matter and recalled the party's position when the women's reservation legislation was passed in 2023.
Fadnavis said the Congress was opposing women's reservation even in 2023, but knew that the government had the numbers to pass the legislation. He alleged that the party eventually supported the legislation after realising that it would be passed anyway. "The Congress was opposing women's reservation in 2023, but it knew that the government had the majority and that the Bill would be passed. So, it simply took advantage of the situation," Fadnavis said.
Why delimitation has become a political flashpoint
Fadnavis said the issue of delimitation was included in the women's reservation law passed in 2023. According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the census process, making it difficult to conduct a fresh census and subsequently undertake delimitation within the required timeframe. He said that conducting a new census by 2029 would not be possible and, therefore, delimitation based on a fresh census would also not be feasible.
The Chief Minister said the government has suggested a middle path under which delimitation could be carried out using the previous census data. Fadnavis alleged that the Congress was opposing this proposal because it did not want women to get reservation and claimed that the party did not want women's reservation to be implemented by 2029.
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