Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday strongly defended the state government's move to introduce Hindi as a compulsory third language for students in Classes 1 to 5 studying in Marathi and English-medium schools from the academic year 2025-26.

However, the opposition parties, including Congress and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, have strongly opposed the government's decision.

"We have already implemented the New Education Policy. Therefore, no new decisions have been taken in this regard. It is our insistence that everyone in Maharashtra should know Marathi. Also, there should be a single language for communication across the country. Hindi is a language that can be a language for communication. Therefore, people should also learn Hindi, this is our effort," he added.

"If anyone wants to learn English, they can learn English. If anyone wants to learn any other language, there is no prohibition on anyone from learning other languages. Everyone should know Marathi. Also, other languages of our country should be known. The Central Government has thought about this. The Central Government thinks that there should be a language of communication in our country. This effort has been made," observed the chief minister.

According to CM Fadnavis, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has prepared two state curriculum frameworks, one for the foundation level and one for the school level. The Steering Committee, headed by the Minister of School Education, has approved both these frameworks.

Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded that the state government should immediately withdraw the notification on the introduction of Hindi as a compulsory third language for students in Classes 1 to 5 studying in Marathi and English medium schools to protect Marathi identity and linguistic rights.

"The mother tongue of Maharashtra is Marathi, but Marathi and English are used in education and administration. In such a situation, forcibly imposing Hindi as a third language is an injustice to Marathi and an attack on the identity of Marathi speakers. If a third language is needed, it should be optional. But making it mandatory is a form of pressure from the Centre on the states, which is not in line with the basic principles of federalism. Some states have opposed it and are being threatened – this is a matter of growing concern," he remarked.

On the other hand, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena general secretary, Sandip Deshpande, said that Hindi is not the official language of India.

"After India became independent in 1947, linguistic regions were formed. Each state has a different language. Now you cannot impose the language of another state on us, we are firmly opposed to this. Marathi language should be mandatory in Maharashtra. There is no problem with the third language being optional. We are opposed to making Hindi mandatory," he added.

"Should Marathi be given priority in Maharashtra? If such a discussion is going on, then it is the misfortune of Maharashtra," he expressed.

"Various languages of the country should survive. The third language should be optional. If anyone wants to learn any other Indian language except Hindi, they will learn it. But why learn Hindi?" he asked.