‘Anyone who lives in Mumbai…’: Devendra Fadnavis on RSS leader's Marathi remark

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra, asserting that anyone who lives in the city should “learn and speak it”.

The chief minister was speaking in the state assembly in response to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav's demand seeking clarification from the Maharashtra government on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.

"Mumbai does not have one language. It has many languages. Certain areas have their own language. The language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati. In Girgaum, you will have fewer Hindi speakers and more Marathi speakers. So it is easy that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi," PTI quoted Joshi as saying.

Fadnavis said, “I haven't heard what Bhaiyyaji said, but the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra is Marathi. Everyone should learn Marathi and should speak the language.”

Fadnavis said his government respects other languages as well.

"If you love and respect your own language, you do the same to other languages. I am sure Bhaiyyaji will agree with me," Fadnavis said.

‘Treason, insult to Maharashtra’: Sanjay Raut on Joshi's remark

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut dubbed Joshi's remark as “treason” and “insult of Maharashtra”.

"Marathi is our state language, and such a statement amounts to treason. The statement is treason," Raut claimed while talking to reporters.

The Rajya Sabha member dared CM Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar to condemn Joshi's statement and pass a resolution in the state legislature over the matter.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said,"People from outside come to our state and settle here. However, the language of this land is Marathi, just like Tamil is in Tamil Nadu and Kannada is in Karnataka. The ideology of the BJP is to keep disrespecting Maharashtra."

"Yesterday, Suresh Bhaiyya ji said that the language in Ghatkopar could be Gujarati, but this is absolutely not possible. The language of Mumbai is Marathi. This government even halted the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan in Mumbai because they want to disrespect Maharashtra and the Marathi language," he was quoted by ANI as saying.