RSS leader says remark that Marathi is not necessary to live in Mumbai ‘misinterpreted’

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi on Thursday said that his remark a day earlier that knowing Marathi was not necessary to live in Mumbai had been “misinterpreted”, PTI reported.

His statement came after a controversy erupted over his remark, with the Opposition parties calling for Joshi to be booked for treason.

At an event in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area on Wednesday, Joshi had said that the city did not have a single language.

“It has many languages,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying. “Here certain areas have their own language. The language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati. Whereas in Girgaon, you will have fewer Hindi speakers and more Marathi speakers.”

He added: “So it is that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.”

In response, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that Joshi should be booked for treason, The Indian Express reported. Thackeray said that Joshi’s remark reflected the “hidden agenda” of the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party to “divide” Mumbai.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the BJP.

“It has been a long time since they raked up the India-Pakistan issue,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying. “But it is ‘batenge toh katenge’. It’s not just a Marathi vs non-Marathi issue, but also Maratha vs non-Marathas and the formula to capture the...

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