CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: A remark by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on the Marathi language has become a topic of discussion in Maharashtra. During a Dahi Handi event held in Thane, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik urged the actor to speak in Marathi. Dutt declined and referred to his days in jail.
According to reports, Sanjay Dutt said in a lighter vein that he had spent nearly six years in Yerwada jail, but did not learn Marathi even there. Minister Sarnaik was present with him at the event and was seen laughing at the actor’s comment.
Political reaction to Sanjay Dutt’s remark followed soon after. BJP MLA Narendra Mehta questioned Minister Pratap Sarnaik over the issue. Mehta asked why people laugh if an actor does not know Marathi, while ordinary auto-rickshaw drivers are expected to speak the language. Questioning Sarnaik’s stand, Mehta said rules and expectations on language should be the same for everyone. He also targeted the minister politically over the issue.
The controversy has surfaced at a time when a political debate is already underway over the Maharashtra government’s initiative to enable auto and taxi drivers to communicate in Marathi. According to reports, Sarnaik had supported the initiative and later clarified that non-Marathi-speaking drivers would not be allowed to be intimidated or threatened. According to Sarnaik, about 1.65 lakh non-Marathi-speaking auto and taxi drivers have learned Marathi under the initiative.
The Marathi language has long been a subject of political and social debate in Maharashtra. Different political parties have taken positions from time to time on the use of Marathi by local shopkeepers, traders, transport services and in public life. Sanjay Dutt’s comment has brought the debate back into focus. Although the actor’s statement was made in a light-hearted manner during the event, the reaction from political leaders has turned it into a political controversy.
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