Hindi in Maharashtra schools: Oppn misleading people, politicising issue, says BJP's Darekar

Mumbai, Jan 28 (PTI) BJP MLA Pravin Darekar on Saturday said the opposition parties were misleading people by claiming Hindi was being made a compulsory subject in Maharashtra schools from Class I.

Hindi is not a compulsory subject in Maharashtra under the three-language formula of the National Education Policy 2020 and this has also been reiterated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, asserted Darekar.

"The opposition is needlessly politicising the issue. It was the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government that had accepted the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee, which included the three-language policy. Former Mumbai VC Bhalchandra Mungekar was part of the committee. Why is Thackeray now opposing what he had approved," Darekar told reporters.

Darekar also claimed the three-language policy will benefit students as they will have to compete at the national level.

"Learning three languages from an early age will help them. We stand firmly by this decision. Hindi is not being made compulsory. Learning Hindi from Standard I is optional. Yet, the opposition is spreading misinformation and attempting to create unrest. They have every right to hold rallies, distribute pamphlets and reach out to people but not at the cost of facts," he added.

Instead of fuelling fears based on language, the opposition must hail Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving classical language status to Marathi, the BJP leader pointed out.

He also played down reports of differences on the language issue in the Mahayuti alliance, which comprises the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.

"Minor differences are common in any alliance. There's no need to make an issue out of it. All three parties in power are working together and they take decisions collectively," he said.

On June 17, the Maharashtra government issued a GR making Hindi the third language, though not mandatory, for students of Classes 1 to 5 studying in English and Marathi medium schools.

The opposition, led by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, however, have accused the ruling BJP of pursuing a hidden agenda through the three-language policy to give precedence to Hindi over regional languages, including Marathi. PTI ND BNM