Fadnavis Pauses Marathi Rule for Drivers, Sidelining Sena's Shinde
· India · Indian Express, The Hindu
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers another year to learn basic Marathi and ruled out punitive action during that period, overruling the state's transport department. The decision came a day after Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, in Borivali, Mumbai, distributed certificates to 20,000 drivers who had completed a Marathi language course under a campaign he had championed. The pause exposes tensions within the Mahayuti alliance, with Shiv Sena leaders, particularly transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, having publicly defended enforcing the requirement. Fadnavis announced the move after driver representatives met him through BJP leader Haji Ashraf, who relayed their demand that drivers of different ages and education levels needed more time. The CM's decision shifts the focus from enforcement to a learning window and defuses protests that had been building against the Marathi rule.
Why it matters
Auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai and other Maharashtra cities now have a one-year reprieve from Marathi enforcement, while the Fadnavis-Shinde split raises questions over who sets policy inside the BJP-Sena alliance ahead of future political battles.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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