‘We need to know their stand and exact plans': Sharad Pawar on participating in Uddhav and Raj-led protest against Hindi
NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar Friday welcomed the decision of estranged cousins Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS leader Raj Thackeray to come together to protest against the Maharashtra Government's decision to implement Hindi from classes 1 to 5 in schools of the state board.
Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will hold a joint protest march on July 5 to oppose the Maharashtra Government's decision to implement Hindi from Class 1 to Class 5 under the National Education Policy (NEP)'s three-language formula. They have called the state's government decision an imposition on regional identity and linguistic diversity.
While speaking in Kolhapur, Sharad Pawar said it was good that the two are burying their past differences, and are coming together for the cause of the Marathi language. 'If the Thackerays want all political parties to join the protests, we need to know their stand and exact plans concerning the issue,' said Pawar.
'Fifty-five per cent of the country's population speaks Hindi, and one cannot ignore it. People of Maharashtra are not anti-Hindi, but it is not right to impose the language on young students in classes 1 to 4. During this age, the mother tongue is more important.'
Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray Thursday announced separate protests over the issue. Raj said they would hold a 'Virat Morcha' from Girgaon Chowpatty in South Mumbai on July 6, and Uddhav extended support to a protest organised by academic and activist Deepak Pawar at Azad Maidan the next day.
On Friday, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said both leaders will now hold a march together. 'There will be a single and united march against compulsory Hindi in Maharashtra schools. Thackeray is the brand!' Raut posted on X.
The Maharashtra government's decision to introduce Hindi as a mandatory third language from classes 1 to 5 in Marathi- and English-medium schools of the state board drew flak from several quarters. Following the backlash, the state government issued an amended order last week stating Hindi will 'generally' be taught as the third language to students in Marathi- and English-medium schools from classes 1 to 5.
It also added a provision allowing students to opt for another Indian language if at least 20 students from the same class in a school make such a request.
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The party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, "Once again, the truth slipped out. The hidden agenda of the BJP and RSS is now out in the open. They want to remove the core values of secularism and socialism from the Constitution." RJD president Lalu Prasad, who claimed that social justice and communal harmony are his guiding principles, voiced his anguish on X by terming the RSS a "casteist" outfit. The RJD supremo also said, "They do not have the guts to cast an evil eye on the Constitution and reservations provided therein. Why are people with an unjust character so full of hatred for democracy and Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution?" Party MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, "Perhaps he (Hosabale) hasn't read it; I would advise him to seriously read the Constituent Assembly debates. Socialism and secularism were integral parts of our Constitution." 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an hour ago
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