Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale on Friday said that speaking in Marathi language can't be made compulsory. The minister was speaking in connection with the Marathi writer Shobha Deshpande who staged a 20-hour protest in Mumbai, Maharashtra, after a city-based jeweller allegedly refused to speak in the Marathi language and asked her to leave his shop where she had gone to make a purchase.
The jeweller has apologised to the writer, who staged the protest overnight on the footpath outside his shop. Ms Deshpande was later taken to a hospital for a medical check-up by the police.
Athawale said that the compulsion to speak only Marathi is unconstitutional. He also asked if the Shiv Sena's North Indian and South Indian wing speak in Marathi. Athawale added, "Speaking Marathi cannot be made compulsory, I oppose the views of Shobha Deshpande and Shiv Sena."