Raj Thackeray's 'appeal': Use Marathi everywhere

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, under flak for his strident anti-north Indian campaign, has decided to send letters to every household in the state, urging them to use Marathi in daily life.

"Thackeray will pen the letter in Marathi and MNS workers will go to households in the state on February 27 to deliver the letter," a leader of the four-year-old party said.

"In the letter, the MNS chief will urge the people to use Marathi everywhere, including offices, trains and marketplaces," he said.

February 27 is observed as Marathi Language Day every year in memory of noted poet V V Shirwadkar aka Kusumagraj, whose birth anniversary falls on the day. MNS will not differentiate between Maharashtrians and others while delivering the letters, said the letter.

Two years ago, as part of the party's campaign to propagate the use of Marathi, MNS workers had blackened English signboards across the city, demanding that all signboards should be written in Marathi.