Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said while there was nothing wrong in expecting people to speak Marathi in the state, it was unacceptable to resort to violence for its insistence and that one cannot be "obstinate" about it.
He also warned of legal action against those taking the law into their hands over the issue.
The CM's remarks came in response to a recent incident in which Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers assaulted a food stall owner in Thane district's Bhayandar for not speaking Marathi, and a businessman in Mumbai issuing a statement declaring he would not speak Marathi despite having lived in the city for many years.
"You can ask people to speak Marathi in Maharashtra, but you cannot be obstinate about Marathi," Fadnavis told reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai.
"Marathi people cannot have so much hatred against other languages," he added.
Cautioning against linguistic chauvinism, he said, "Even I am Marathi. There are (Marathi) people working in other states. If they get similar treatment (there), then it is not fair. Whoever takes the law into their hands will face legal action."
He criticised the selective outrage over languages, and said, "I sometimes wonder how these people embrace English, but create controversy over Hindi. What sort of thought process is this?"
Calling for constructive promotion of the language, Fadnavis said, "If you are truly proud of Marathi, then speak Marathi. Encourage others to speak Marathi. Start classes to teach Marathi. Why do you send your children to schools where Marathi is taught as the third language? Send them to Marathi medium schools."
According to him, the police have taken action against MNS workers who manhandled a businessman in Thane who could not speak in Marathi. -- PTI
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