Shiv Sena UBT, MNS To Unite After 2 Decades; Hold Joint Protest On July 5 Against 'Hindi Imposition'

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will jointly organize a protest march on July 5 against the state government's reported move to make Hindi compulsory up to Class 4 under the 'Three Language Policy'.

The announcement was made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut at a press conference on Friday.

Raut said, "We are not against any language. We have always respected Hindi. People like us have always valued it. Our party uses Hindi in many ways. But the recent decision to make Hindi compulsory as the third language up to Class 4 under the 'Three Language Policy' puts an unnecessary burden on children. It is both an academic and a linguistic issue." Raut revealed that discussions with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray resolved earlier plans for separate protests on July 6 and July 7, respectively, on the same issue.

"It was not good that two separate rallies would be taken out. I discussed with Uddhav and Raj Thackeray. Both Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will jointly begin this movement on July 5," he stated.

Raut took a sharp jab at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of orchestrating political damage to Maharashtra.

"We are not enemies of the Hindi language. But Amit Shah is certainly Maharashtra's political enemy. He is the one who broke Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena by manipulating the Election Commission and the Supreme Court. Why should we listen to someone like him?" he said, referring to the 2022 split in Shiv Sena and the subsequent legal battles over the party's name and symbol.

The call for protest comes amid the ongoing debate over the Maharashtra government's alleged move to make Hindi compulsory across all classes.

On June 24, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the final decision regarding the three-language formula will be taken only after discussions with literateurs, language experts, political leaders, and all other concerned parties.

A meeting on the issue of the three-language formula was held at the Chief Minister's official residence, Varsha, on Sunday night. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, Minister of State Dr Pankaj Bhoyar, and officials from the education department were present.

After an in-depth discussion on the subject, it was decided to present the status of all states, ensure that Marathi students are not disadvantaged under the Academic Bank of Credit in the context of the new education policy, and explore other possible options. A comprehensive presentation will be made for all stakeholders. It was resolved in the meeting that this presentation and consultation process should be conducted with Marathi language scholars, litterateurs, political leaders, and all relevant parties.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis further stated that a final decision will be made only after this consultation process is completed. Hence, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse will now initiate the next phase of the consultation process.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)