After protests by non-Marathi-speaking auto and taxi drivers over the decision making it mandatory for them to speak Marathi with passengers, the Maharashtra government decided to give them an additional month to learn the language.
Maharashtra State Transport Minister and Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik said the government was ready to cooperate with non-Marathi-speaking auto and taxi drivers by giving them sufficient time to learn Marathi.
He said that under the law, if taxi and auto drivers did not learn Marathi within one month, they would be issued a three-month notice of suspension of their licences. “In these three months, the non-Marathi auto and taxi drivers will have to learn Marathi; otherwise, in the fourth month, the driving licenses of non-Marathi auto and taxi drivers will be cancelled,” Sarnaik said.
The Shiv Sena minister said they were not asking non-Marathi-speaking auto and taxi drivers to speak "great or classical Marathi". The condition, he said, was that those working in Maharashtra should at least be able to converse in the local Marathi language.
“We are confident that the auto and taxi drivers who are yet to learn Marathi will start learning soon. Earlier, more than 1.5 lakh auto and taxi drivers joined the Marathi learning classes and got the certificate as well. The remaining auto and taxi drivers will also learn Marathi soon,” Sarnaik added.
He said that the police implementing the Marathi-speaking rules should not exploit auto and taxi drivers unlawfully. “If we find that any officers and police are engaged in wrong practices, then we will take action against these police as well. We are here to implement the policy, not harass and exploit the people,” the Shiv Sena minister added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government was ready to give auto and taxi drivers more time to learn Marathi if needed. He said they would ensure that no taxi or auto drivers were harassed or troubled for not speaking Marathi, while adding that they should also learn the local language.