Mumbai, April 5: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday asked the party members to stop agitation for now after it started aggressively pushing the Marathi identity agenda ahead of civic polls in the state, including in banks and other big corporations like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur.

His letter to party members comes a day after the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned attempts by some people to take the law into their own hands while demanding the use of Marathi will not be tolerated.

“I congratulate you for once again raising your voice strongly for the issue of Marathi in Maharashtra. I had asked you at the Gudi Padwa rally to see whether transactions are being done in Marathi in banks in Maharashtra, and if not, inform the administration of that bank about it. From the next day, you went to banks everywhere in Maharashtra and insisted on Marathi there, which was great; this not only sent the message that no one can take Marathi language and Marathi people for granted, but also showed the organisational strength of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which is present everywhere,” said the MNS chief.

He, however, put the ball in the state government’s court, saying that the government should make the banks and other establishments respect Marathi.

“The government has a major responsibility. They know the rules of the Reserve Bank, and it is now the government’s responsibility to implement those rules. The Chief Minister said that we will not let anyone take the law into their own hands. We do not want that either, but if you are the protector of the law, then isn’t it your job to implement the rules of the Reserve Bank? You should make banks and other establishments respect Marathi, then we will definitely not take the law into our own hands,” he said.

He further asked his worker: “Stop the agitation now, because we have created enough awareness on these issues and have shown a glimpse of what can happen if this does not happen. Now the Marathi people themselves should insist. If our Marathi people have backtracked on the issue of use of Marathi language in Maharashtra, then why should we do these agitations?”

Raj Thackeray’s call to his party members to stop the agitation also comes after various banking experts and unions had taken strong objection.

Mumbai, April 5: Minister of Marathi Language Uday Samant on Saturday said the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray share the same view that everyone living in the state should be able to speak Marathi, while also respecting all other languages.

“Respect for Marathi should be maintained, just as we respect other languages,” Samant said after meeting Raj Thackeray in Mumbai here on Saturday.

The meeting comes amid MNS’s renewed push to assert Marathi identity ahead of civic polls across major cities, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Samant said, “Raj Thackeray had invited me, as the Minister for Marathi Language, to discuss ongoing developments regarding the use of Marathi in the state. Before coming, I informed the Shiv Sena chief and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and took his permission.”

Samant said Raj Thackeray had shared suggestions on how to ensure institutions, particularly banks, implement the use of Marathi in day-to-day business.

“I will personally speak to Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and CM Devendra Fadnavis. We will work towards improvements,” he said.

“Raj Thackeray and the state government have a common stand — Marathi must be respected, and all residents of Maharashtra should learn the language. I will call a meeting of all committees in the state to ensure that institutions dealing with the public, like banks, conduct their business in Marathi. We will then decide what action needs to be taken,” Samant added.

The meeting took place a day after CM Fadnavis warned that while insisting on the use of Marathi is not wrong, taking the law into one’s hands in the process would not be tolerated. “Those who do so will be dealt with appropriately,” he said, responding to incidents of aggressive promotion of Marathi by MNS cadres.

Samant acknowledged that many languages are spoken in Maharashtra and the state has welcomed people from different backgrounds. “We respect them, and MNS does too. But bullying and injustice toward Marathi speakers must stop. Raj Thackeray suggested that Marathi should be given legal protection,” he said.

He also reiterated that banks and institutions that engage daily with Marathi-speaking citizens must use the language in their services. “A meeting of the police department and district collectors will be held in the next eight to ten days. A committee has already been formed to promote the Marathi language, headed by the respective district collectors. These committees will decide on the necessary action against institutions that neglect Marathi.”

Meanwhile, MNS spokesperson Sandip Deshpande took a sharper tone, saying on X, “Those who do not want to speak Marathi can leave Maharashtra. Those who refuse to speak Marathi while living in the state are traitors.”

He added that MNS’ stance — that Marathi must be respected in Maharashtra just like local languages are in other states — has found support among linguistic identity organizations in other regions.

“Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, for instance, has extended full support to Raj Thackeray’s stand,” Deshpande said.

Pune, April 5: Maharashtra BJP president and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule here on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of betraying the ideals and vision of his father, Balasaheb Thackeray, by opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Bawankule claimed that Thackeray’s stance was driven by vote-bank politics ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

“Uddhav Thackeray’s position on the Waqf Amendment Bill is not even acceptable to his own workers. I’ve received messages from across the state suggesting that many Shiv Sainiks are disillusioned and considering quitting the party. His Shiv Sena won’t survive another year,” Bawankule asserted.

He further alleged, “By opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, Uddhav Thackeray has committed a serious offence.”

On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the Bill, stating that it reflects the secular and democratic spirit enshrined in the Constitution.

“The Waqf Board that existed till now was a product of appeasement politics. It neither benefited the minority community nor contributed to any charitable cause. On the contrary, it was used to forcibly grab land. The biggest Waqf land scam in Maharashtra happened during the Congress regime. We had even initiated an inquiry into it,” Fadnavis said.

He added that the amended law would bring much-needed transparency and ensure that the benefits reach the common Muslim.

“The Bill does not infringe upon any religious beliefs. It merely corrects historical wrongs. It also ensures women’s representation on the Waqf Board and removes the earlier provision that barred judicial scrutiny of its actions,” he said.

Fadnavis also alleged that Waqf lands were often taken over by the Board and later by Congress leaders, adding, “The Bill is aimed at ending this loot. Those who truly follow Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals should support it.”

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, accused Thackeray of abandoning Hindutva and compromising Balasaheb’s principles. “His opposition to the Bill exposes his real priorities — power over people’s welfare,” Shinde said.