Voluntary group releases 'Marathinama' for civic polls, seeks priority for Marathi candidates

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) A voluntary group on Friday released a detailed charter titled 'Marathinama' for voters and the civic administration ahead of the civic polls, calling for priority to Marathi candidates, compulsory use of Marathi in civic functioning and preferential opportunities for local Marathi youth.

The group, the Marathi Abhyas Kendra, also demanded that at least 80 per cent of civic contracts, jobs, vending licences and business permits be reserved for the sons and daughters of the soil speaking Marathi.

As many as 29 municipal corporations, including those of Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur, are going to polls on January 15.

Addressing a press conference here, office-bearers of the organisation said voters should give preference to Marathi candidates irrespective of party or religion. Where more than one Marathi candidate is in the fray, voters were urged to support those committed to Marathi language, Marathi-medium schools, Marathi people and Maharashtra's culture.

The Marathinama states that candidates who can speak Marathi fluently in public, conduct election campaigns in the local language and respect the state's linguistic and cultural identity should be preferred, while those seen as diluting Maharashtra's identity for migrants should be rejected.

For the civic administration, the document demands that the mayor and chairpersons of all civic committees be Marathi. It also calls for all municipal financial and administrative work, including websites, purchase orders and receipts, to be made available in Marathi.

The organisation demanded strict fines against shops not displaying signboards in Marathi and action against officials for lax enforcement. It also sought punitive action against housing societies that deny homes on the basis of food habits, including cancellation of water, electricity and occupancy certificates.

The Marathinama calls for naming roads, squares, gardens and playgrounds after Marathi personalities and cultural symbols, setting up ward-level 'Marathi vigilance centres' to register complaints of discrimination, and constituting a municipal official language committee on the lines of the state legislature's Rajbhasha Samiti.

On opportunities and employment, the charter demands that at least 80 per cent of civic contracts, jobs, vending licences and business permits be reserved for Marathi sons and daughters of the soil. It also proposes mandatory Marathi language proficiency tests for non-local applicants seeking business licences, along with compulsory local partnership.

In the education sector, the organisation said running quality, aided Marathi-medium schools must be the civic body's priority. It opposed opening new schools in languages other than Marathi and objected to converting Marathi schools into English-medium institutions. It also demanded timely grants and higher allocation of education funds to Marathi schools.

The document further calls for making Marathi visible in public spaces, transport, hospitals and cultural venues, starting ward-level online and offline Marathi language learning centres for non-Marathi residents, and avoiding the use of Hindi or English names for civic infrastructure and welfare schemes.

The Marathi Abhyas Kendra said the Marathinama would be circulated among political parties and voters as part of a broader awareness campaign. PTI MR NP