Source Credit: NDTV
A political furor erupted in Maharashtra state after the comment of senior RSS leader Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi on the linguistic diversity of Mumbai, which variously claims that the city does not have a language, but rather languages-Gujarati and Hindi.
Joshi declared, "Mumbai does not have one language. It has many languages. In areas like Ghatkopar, people speak Gujarati, while in Girgaum, Marathi speakers outnumber Hindi speakers." The very utterance incensed the opposition parties; said Joshi while attending an event in Mumbai.
In response, opposition leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) took to social media to denounce Joshi's utterances. ''The RSS chief has insulted the very state and his words are nothing less than treason, as Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra," stated Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut. ''Such statements are unacceptable
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, to quench the political storm, clarified the official state position. Addressing the Assembly, he asserted that Marathi is Mumbai's and Maharashtra's official language and that all in the state ought to have learned and spoken Marathi.
''Those who respect their own language will respect others," observed Fadnavis, emphasizing that while Marathi enjoys official recognition, offending other tongues is not condoned in the state.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spearheaded a protest at Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai, demanding a clear position from the BJP government on the controversy. Discontent over the controversy is an ongoing manifestation of political tensions in Maharashtra surrounding language and identity.
