Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday said cancelling the licences of autorickshaw and taxi drivers in Maharashtra for not knowing Marathi would be “unconstitutional."
Speaking to news agency PTI, a day after the Maharashtra government granted migrant drivers a one-year extension to acquire working knowledge of Marathi, Athawale said there should be no pressure on people to learn the language.
“How can one issue a fatwa to cancel a licence for not knowing Marathi?” he asked.
Athawale said he did not oppose the requirement for drivers to know Marathi, but objected to cancellation of licences for non-compliance.
“We do not oppose the decision, everyone should know Marathi, but cancellation of licence...is against the Constitution and unjust. Mumbai is the economic capital of India and everyone can come here,” the Union Minister of State for Social Justice said.
He also said the government should not put excessive pressure on migrant drivers to learn Marathi.
“Fadnavis has extended the period for learning Marathi, but I still feel that it is not right to put so much pressure (to learn the language),” Athawale said.
Athawale further noted that, according to him, 60 per cent of Mumbai's non-Marathi population had voted for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which came to power.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, meanwhile, alleged that Fadnavis extended the deadline following pressure from the Centre and described the move as a message to the BJP's ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
“The initiative was not for the Marathi language but for the non-Marathi people (drivers). Delhi pressured to roll back the initiative. We had been keeping an eye on this move. We had anticipated pressure from Delhi for the rollback, which happened yesterday,” Raut claimed.
He said the decision was also a reminder to Mahayuti allies that they would have to follow the wishes of the person who would succeed the incumbent chief minister, in an apparent reference to speculation about Fadnavis's future political role.
“By announcing the extension to drivers to learn the language by a year, the chief minister has shown he is the boss. The announcement was done as an arrangement to remind the allies and send a message that they have to listen to the person who succeeds the (incumbent) CM,” Raut said.
He also dared Shiv Sena ministers to rebel against the decision.
Raut further claimed that political considerations could have influenced the move ahead of next year's Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, noting that a sizeable number of migrant drivers in Mumbai are from the state.
The Maharashtra government on Thursday had announced that migrant autorickshaw and taxi drivers would be given one year to acquire working knowledge of Marathi. Fadnavis said no action would be taken against drivers for failing to meet the requirement during this period.
The decision followed a meeting between the chief minister and representatives of migrant drivers at Sahyadri Guest House.
The BJP-led Maharashtra government had announced in April that drivers of commercial passenger vehicles must have functional knowledge of Marathi and had set August 15 as the deadline for compliance. Marathi classes were subsequently organised for drivers.
The Transport Department, headed by Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik, had also begun enforcement. On August 20, RTO officials issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers, for allegedly lacking adequate knowledge of Marathi during statewide checks.
Sarnaik had said drivers who failed the Marathi test would be given one month to acquire working knowledge of the language, failing which their badges would be suspended for three months.
The one-year extension has been welcomed by autorickshaw and taxi unions, which said the additional time would protect drivers from an immediate threat to their livelihoods.
Prem Singh of the Mumbai Taximen's Association said many drivers were above 60 and found it difficult to learn Marathi within a short period, although several already understood the language.
“We have already started classrooms to teach Marathi, and the additional time will help more drivers learn the language,” said DM Gosavi of the Seva Sarathi Taxi Rickshaw Transport Union.
A retired transport department official, however, said the issue appeared to have been taken up largely for political reasons without adequately considering practical concerns. He also pointed out that the government had not clearly defined what constituted “working knowledge” of Marathi.
A senior RTO official said the extension would also ease the workload on enforcement officials, who had already issued notices to hundreds of drivers.
The issue had gained political attention after Sarnaik's department made Marathi proficiency a requirement for commercial passenger vehicle drivers and began testing drivers on the road.