July 5 to be marked as 'Marathi Vijay Diwas': Sanjay Raut

Raut said both Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will attend the event.

Mumbai: Days after the Maharashtra government withdrew orders on three-language policy in schools, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said they will hold a rally on July 5 to observe it as "Marathi Vijay Diwas".

He also asked the BJP-led Mahayuti government to stop misleading people of the state, in reference to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' claim that Uddhav Thackeray, as the then CM, had accepted recommendations of the Dr Raghunath Mashelkar committee to introduce a three-language policy from class 1 to 12 and set up a committee on the policy implementation.

Raut urged the government to produce and publicly burn any government resolution (GR) allegedly issued under the previous Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

"Let them bring that GR, and burn it if it exists," Raut told reporters, slamming the BJP for "forcibly imposing" Hindi on Marathi-speaking students.

"We have opposed the BJP government's resolution which was indirectly enforcing Hindi as the third language from class 1. They are in power now, not us. We will provide them space (to burn) if they come up with that GR," he said sarcastically.

The Rajya Sabha member also said the July 5 rally in Mumbai will be marked as "Marathi Vijay Diwas" to assert the strength and pride of the Marathi-speaking population.

"The rally will demonstrate the might of Marathi people against this Hindi imposition. We've shown Delhi that 'tiger abhi zinda hai' (tiger is still alive)," the Sena (UBT) leader said in a defiant tone.

He said both Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will attend the event.

"There should be no doubt about the Thackeray brothers coming together. We have also invited other political parties and people to join the programme," Raut said.

"We have finalised the broader outline. The rally will begin around noon (on July 5)," he added.

Invoking Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's legacy, Raut said, "Balasaheb taught us to hit the sin, not the sinner. This fight is not against any one individual but against policies that are anti-Maharashtra."

Targeting the BJP, Raut further said, "Every time they try to suppress the Marathi people, we bounce back with even more strength. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis must realise this isn't a mute Maharashtra they're dealing with."

Facing mounting opposition to the introduction of Hindi language in Maharashtra schools from classes 1 to 5, the state cabinet on Sunday decided to withdraw two GRs (government orders) on the implementation of the three-language policy.

Immediately after the announcement, the MNS and the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the protest march planned on July 5 against the GRs has been cancelled.

However, Uddhav Thackeray said a programme will take place on July 5 to celebrate the “unity of the Marathi manoos”.

Meanwhile, asked about Congress likely to contest the coming civic elections in the state independently, Raut said it is a national party and has every right to contest the local body polls separately.

The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), was primarily formed for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, he said.