THANE: Two days after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) protested against the use of Hindi and English on barriers at the Metro 12 construction site in Dombivli, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Friday began replacing the Hindi signage with Marathi.
A day earlier, MMRDA officials had said they had instructed the contractor to include Marathi alongside English. The protest had escalated, with MNS workers defacing the barriers and former corporator Prabhakar Jadhav warning that the issue would be handled “in MNS style.”
Following its campaign targeting banks, MNS has now hinted that its next agitation will focus on educational institutions. The party wants schools and colleges to prominently display their name boards in Marathi.
In a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chetan Pednekar, a leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (the student wing of MNS), said that strict implementation of Marathi signage is necessary.
“All aided and unaided schools and colleges across all boards should be directed to display their names prominently in Marathi,” Pednekar wrote, urging the education department to issue necessary instructions.
Last week, MNS chief Raj Thackeray asked his party workers to pause the Marathi language campaign in banks and other establishments, saying that “sufficient awareness” had been created. However, following the protests, the United Forum of Bank Unions wrote to CM Fadnavis alleging that individuals claiming to be MNS members had visited bank branches and intimidated employees.
At his Gudi Padwa rally on 30 March, Thackeray reiterated the party’s stance on making Marathi mandatory for official use and warned that those who deliberately avoid speaking the language would be “slapped.”
