'Not Raj Thackeray's MNS But...': Priyanka Chaturvedi On Marathi Language Row

NDTV

5 hours ago

New Delhi:
Outrage over violence by goons from Raj Thackeray's MNS - who have attacked non-Marathi speakers with impunity over the past week, including a Rajasthani-origin Mumbai shopkeeper - should not detract from the context of the opposition's protests against the 'imposition' of Hindi, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told NDTV Tuesday evening.
She told NDTV she does not agree with the violence but asked why the media had, so far, ignored the opposition saying Class I students should not be forced to learn a third language.
She also suggested provocative comments by some people, including BJP MPs - she called out the saffron party's Lok Sabha rep, Nishikant Dubey, for his crass 'tumhe patak-patak ke maarenge' comment and disrespect of Maharashtra - may have led to some of the violence.
"It is not the MNS that has precipitated this crisis... it is the Maharashtra government's decision to bring in an order to make a language compulsory for Class I students," Ms Chaturvedi said.
"We have seen an entire narrative come out without bringing in the context to this crisis... let me start with the MNS. I totally do not agree with what happened... " she said, referring to the Mumbai shopkeeper assault that was quickly followed by others, including a video in which the staff of a shop in Thane were slapped inside the office of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Rajan Vichare.
"For the violence they indulged in there is a law and order mechanism..." she said.
As an aside, the MNS has refused to apologise for the violence, declaring that in each case their party workers had been 'provoked' into attacking by people disrespecting the Marathi language.
On the leniency of that mechanism - the seven men who assaulted the Mumbai shopkeeper were only served a notice by the police and allowed to walk scot-free - Ms Chaturvedi said she could not comment because she does not represent the ruling party, i.e., the BJP.
But is the language row - over the 'imposition' of Hindi - that must be the focus of the political narrative, the Sena (UBT) leader insisted to NDTV. "We came in at a point where we said Class I students should not be forced to study a third language... that they should have the option."
"They (the Maharashtra government) realised their mistake... that they could not bring in the language in such a manner and that is why you saw a lot of debate happen around it... that debate only came after there was strong opposition against it," she said.
For additional context, the Maharashtra government had issued an order in April requiring all students from Class I to V to learn Hindi as a third language. The order triggered furious protests from pro-Marathi groups that saw it as a way to push Hindi into the Marathi school system.
The state then modified the order in June but, faced with furious and escalating opposition, rolled it back completely weeks later. Ms Chaturvedi's party and the MNS have claimed combined credit for that rollback, with bosses Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray - estranged cousins and the son and nephew of Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray - using this to find common ground and renew their political alliance before the critical Mumbai civic body election.
That renewal prompted attacks from the BJP, including criticism of the Thackeray's Saturday 'victory rally' and crass comments about the state and its economy by Nishikant Dubey.
"He has spoken (about Maharashtra) in such terms that I don't want to repeat them... but I do want to remind him that despite coal mines being in Jharkhand or Bihar, it is an unfortunate reality that people can't find jobs in their state. They come to Maharashtra, which gives them love and respect."
On the incidents of violence, which NDTV has called out firmly and repeatedly since they began Sunday last, Ms Chaturvedi pointed out that she herself is a first-generation migrant to Mumbai.
"... there are 12 crore people in Maharashtra, about 1.5 crore of whom come from other states. All coexist peacefully... my own parents came from UP to make a home for in Mumbai."
"I am a first-generation migrant... but look at what Mumbai has given me, look what Maharashtra has given me. The party you are accusing of not being tolerant of Hindi sent me to the Rajya Sabha and gave me an opportunity to represent the state..."
Ms Chaturvedi also pointed out that she herself speaks "very limited Marathi" but had never faced a problem because of that. The point, she said, was not that Marathi had to be spoken, but that it had to be respected.
"... even now we are being asked, 'why are you opposed to Hindi?' But we are not. Why is it the nuance of why we are protesting has been lost?" she asked, referring to a 'dare' by a Bhojpuri actor in Mumbai, Dinesh Lal Yadav, who is popularly known as Nirahua.