Jaipur, July 16 (IANS) Union Minister and National President of the Republican Party of India, Ramdas Athawale, on Wednesday made a strong statement regarding the ongoing Marathi-Hindi language row in Maharashtra.

Speaking to the media during his visit to Jaipur, Athawale said that promoting the Marathi language is important, but using violence or intimidation in its name is unacceptable.

“Knowing Marathi is fine, but bullying and slapping someone is not acceptable. Our government will not tolerate such behaviour. In Maharashtra, 60 per cent of the population is from other states, and out of them, 40 per cent speak Marathi fluently,” he said.

Athawale asserted that both Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are working against the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena.

“Balasaheb worked to ensure justice for Marathi people, and he created various wings — Gujarati, North Indian, and South Indian — to bring everyone together. But the current actions of Uddhav and Raj go against his vision,” he added.

He emphasised that the government, led by Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, is fully capable of dealing with such issues and maintaining peace in Mumbai.

“Bullying in the name of Marathi love is not right. We can respond to aggression, but we want to maintain peace,” he said.

Commenting on national politics, Athawale said that the opposition tried to mislead voters during the Lok Sabha elections by alleging that the BJP would change the Constitution.

“No one can change Ambedkar’s Constitution. The Congress tried to confuse people by waving copies of the Constitution. Despite ruling for decades, they have never faced such a strong challenge as they have from Prime Minister Modi since 2014,” he stated.

Athawale concluded by expressing confidence in Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, saying, “Our intention is clear — Narendra Modi should remain Prime Minister till 2029.”

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, stating that under his governance, India is on track to become the fourth-largest economy in the world.

“In the past 10 years, more than 25 crore people have risen above the poverty line. PM Modi is doing commendable work,” he said.

While acknowledging that retirement at the age of 75 is generally acceptable, Athawale emphasised that as a constituent party of the NDA, his party firmly believes that PM Modi should continue as Prime Minister till 2029.

Commenting on the ongoing voter verification drive in Bihar, Athawale backed the initiative taken by the Election Commission of Bihar.

He clarified that the Election Commission is an autonomous body with no connection to the BJP. However, he expressed concern over the possibility of illegal voters, particularly people from Bangladesh who may be residing in Bihar with fake voter ID cards.

“To address this, the Election Commission has started verifying documents, including the birth certificate of each voter, which is a necessary and appropriate step,” he said.

–IANS

arc/dan