‘We speak Hindi’: Uddhav Sena distances itself from Stalin’s anti-Hindi stance
Mumbai: A day after Uddhav and Raj Thackeray came together in a rare show of unity to mark Maharashtra's rollback of Hindi as a third language in primary classes, the Uddhav Sena on Sunday sought to clarify its position — stating that their opposition to Hindi was restricted strictly to its imposition in Classes I to V, media reports said.
Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the party does not share Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s broader stance on Hindi, which he described as opposing the use of the language altogether.
“Their stand against the imposition of Hindi means they will not speak Hindi and neither let anyone speak Hindi. But that is not our stand in Maharashtra. We speak Hindi… Our stand is that the strictness for Hindi in primary schools will not be tolerated. Our fight is limited to this,” Raut told was quoted as saying by India Today.
Wishing Stalin well in his campaign against what he calls Hindi imposition, Raut emphasised that the Thackeray cousins’ protest was focused solely on the education policy.
“We haven’t stopped anyone from speaking in Hindi because we have Hindi movies, Hindi theatre, and Hindi music here... Our fight is only against the imposition of Hindi in primary education,” he added.
The remarks came a day after the Thackerays shared a stage in Mumbai for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin had welcomed the development, viewing it as an extension of the DMK’s long-standing resistance to what it sees as the Centre’s Hindi-centric policies.
“The language rights struggle, waged generation after generation by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the people of Tamil Nadu to defeat Hindi imposition, has now transcended state boundaries and is swirling like a storm of protest in Maharashtra,” Stalin said in a post on X.
Applauding the Thackerays’ unity, he added, “The enthusiasm and powerful oratory of the victory rally held today in Mumbai under the leadership of brother #UddhavThackeray against Hindi imposition fills us with immense excitement.”
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