Even as the Congress in Maharashtra opposed the state government’s decision to impose Hindi in primary education, the party is unlikely to join the victory rally organised on Saturday by Thackeray cousins after the government decided to withdraw the decision.
“We have always maintained that we do not support the BJP government on its mission to impose Hindi. We had made our stand clear much before any other party. We stand with Marathi but respect every other language. I received the invitation for the Saturday programme on Friday. I had my travel plans fixed which I cannot change,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal.
Meanwhile, Sapkal has outrightly rejected the Narendra Jadhav committee formed by the state government to give its report on the three-language formula in primary education. “We oppose the policy itself. There is no question of supporting this committee. It should be scrapped right away,” he said.
According to sources within the party, the Congress does not want to get dragged behind Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on the issue of dispute between Marathi and non-Marathi speakers. “A large chunk of Congress leadership and workers in Mumbai come from north India as well as non-Marathi speaking population. Why should we disturb our voters?” asked a Congress leader from Mumbai.
The other state Congress leaders too are wary about going with Thackerays at present. “At present, it seems that the local body elections are going to be a solo show for all. We should focus on strengthening our organisation instead of following others,” said a senior party MLA and leader from Vidarbha.
