Key Points

"Why do we need Hindi? I still do not understand. Hindi is the language of one province. Hindi from the first to the fifth grade will not work. Even if there is a committee from anyone, it will not work. Narendra Jadhav (who heads the committee) should be aware of how much opposition there was against the introduction of Hindi by coercion," he added.

He remarked, "We will not make any compromise on the Marathi issue."

"We have nothing to do with the committee's decision, but this will not happen again. We will not accept anything. The education we received included Sanskrit and Hindi after the fifth and sixth standards. Why is there an attempt to introduce Hindi, just because they know it?"

He said the government wanted to go ahead to impose Hindi even though many people in the state government have opposed it.

"Even Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar opposed this. Even after that, the issue of Hindi compulsion was taken up. Under the pretext of teaching three languages from the first grade, the government's attempt to impose the Hindi language on young children was thwarted by the unity of the Marathi people," he said.

He pointed out that on June 29, 2025, the government announced the withdrawal of this decision, adding that this is a victory of the unity of the Marathi people, and heartfelt congratulations to all Marathi people.

"A victory meeting will be held on July 5. There will be no flags at this gathering; it will be a gathering of the Marathi people. And one more thing I reiterated is that, whether or not the report of the new committee appointed by the government comes, it is certain that Hindi will not be taught from the first grade in the state. The details of the victory rally on June 5 will be shared soon," said Raj Thackeray.

To a question of whether he and Uddhav Thackeray will come together on July 5 at the victory march, Raj Thackeray said: "I received a call from Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT MP) and asked me what we should do? I told him that the morcha planned earlier will have to be cancelled. To this, Sanjay Raut said that a victory rally should be held. I agreed with him. I also said that we should hold a victory rally on June 5. I told Sanjay Raut that I just don't want to announce the venue for the same."

He further added that there is no point in giving party labels to this victorious rally, adding that this is the victory of the Marathi people.

"I am happy that the Marathi media and everyone took up this issue. Everyone should be aware of such matters," he said.

Raj Thackeray also asked opposition parties not to discuss the Hindi compulsion issue during the monsoon session, as the government has already withdrawn two government resolutions.

"Instead, the opposition should raise many serious issues in the state. There are issues in the education sector. There are no schools in many parts of the state. There are no teachers in some schools. Some teachers are not paid. There are many shortcomings in education. Discuss these issues in the legislature," he remarked.

When asked whether the decision to introduce Hindi from grade first was taken when Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister, Raj Thackeray said, "I have not received any information about this. I will oppose those who are against the Marathi manoos. Efforts are being made to divide Maharashtra."

He appealed to the Marathi people to be aware of these plans.

- IANS