The state government approved the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introducing Hindi as a mandatory third language for students from Class 1 to Class 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools
Uddhav Thackeray (above) said his party has no aversion to the Hindi language but asked why it is being forced. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asserted that his party will not allow making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra after the state government decided to make Hindi mandatory in schools, reported the PTI.
The state government approved the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introducing Hindi as a mandatory third language for students from Class 1 to Class 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools.
Addressing an event of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the workers' wing of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Uddhav Thackeray said his party has no aversion to the Hindi language but asked why it is being forced.
Uddhav Thackeray claimed it is the ruling BJP's mission not to let people unite and to keep them under constant pressure so that they are occupied with their worries.
"We will not allow making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra," he said, according to the PTI.
His remarks come amid the opposition's outcry over the Maharashtra government's decision on Hindi in schools.
The former Maharashtra CM said, "We will do everything if you ask (us) with affection, but if you impose anything, we will oppose it. Why this force for (learning) Hindi?", as per the PTI.
He pointed out that it was his government that decided to make learning Marathi in the state compulsory.
"You have to say Jai Maharashtra if you want to live in the state," Uddhav Thackeray added, the news agency reported.
Targeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti, he asked if the state government was working for those who want to finish off Maharashtra and Marathi.
He further slammed Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, saying how his party can be subservient to those doing injustice to Marathi and then claim to be the inheritors of Bal Thackeray's legacy.
Referring to senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi's remarks earlier that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said that Marathi should be made compulsory in Ghatkopar, a predominantly Gujarati-speaking suburb of the city, reported the PTI.
On the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, he said his party opposed the legislation because non-Muslims are appointed on the Waqf Board.
"Then my basic question is, what is the guarantee that you (the government) will not appoint non-Hindus to Hindu religious organisations? This is the same question the Supreme Court has asked the government on the Waqf Act," Uddhav Thackeray remarked, the PTI reported.
He further claimed that his government was toppled because, as a chief minister, he had stalled the implementation of labour codes in the state.
Thackeray said that in workplaces where the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena union has a presence, party men should be hired to fill vacancies.
(with PTI inputs)
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