MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said Hindi-speaking auto and taxi drivers working in the state do not need to be experts in Marathi, amid protests by a section of transport workers against the state government’s Marathi proficiency drive.“There is no reason for our Hindi-speaking brothers who work as taxi or auto drivers here to become experts in Marathi. They only need to know enough Marathi to carry out their work,” Fadnavis said.He said there was no compulsion and that efforts were being made to teach Marathi to those who did not know the language.Fadnavis said the deadline for complying with the requirement had already been extended twice and had now been extended for a third time. “If there is another request from those who want to learn and need more time, the deadline will be extended again,” he said.“Our Mahayuti government will not allow anyone to be treated unfairly on the basis of language,” Fadnavis said.He added that many people had been living in Maharashtra for three generations and had integrated with the state’s culture.“All these people are ours, have mingled well with our culture. This is just an effort to teach Marathi to those who cannot speak the language at all. No injustice has been done to anyone nor will our government let any injustice happen,” he said.
What happened?
Fadnavis’ remarks came amid protests by a section of autorickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai against the Marathi proficiency drive.An autorickshaw driver was allegedly assaulted by another auto driver who was part of a protesting group on MG Road in Kandivali West. The victim suffered swelling and minor injuries, and Kandivali police are in the process of registering an FIR.Protests were reported from Kandivali, Malad West, Santacruz, Dahisar, Andheri and other areas. At Laljipada in Kandivali West, drivers staged a roadblock during the morning rush hour.Some protesters allegedly stopped other autorickshaw and taxi drivers, including app-based cab drivers, from ferrying passengers and forced some passengers to deboard. Drivers also complained that protesters tried to damage their vehicles.A section of drivers also began a three-day strike, with some saying the language requirement would put an additional financial burden on them.The Maharashtra Transport Department launched a statewide drive on August 20 to check commercial passenger vehicle drivers’ working knowledge of Marathi. RTOs issued notices to 1,268 drivers on August 20 and another 1,499 non-Marathi-speaking drivers a day later.A senior regional transport official at the Borivali RTO said misinformation had spread among drivers that they would be fined Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 for not knowing Marathi.
