In recent days, tensions have risen in Mumbai over a dispute between Marathi and other languages, sparking anger among the Marathi-speaking population. Concerns have emerged over the lack of job opportunities and housing for Marathi people. The situation intensified when an employee at a ticket window on Mumbai Metro Line 1 was found not speaking Marathi, despite it being a local language. Activists from the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti have demanded an explanation from the Metro administration, questioning how recruitment is conducted when speaking the local language is supposed to be a mandatory requirement for employment.
Following their experience on Mumbai Metro Line 1, activists from the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti reportedly thrashed the concerned employee for not speaking Marathi. The activists alleged that the recruitment process disregards the Marathi language and criticized the lack of priority given to local candidates. They argued that projects like the Metro, when brought to Maharashtra, should prioritize employment for residents of the state. Instead, they claimed that individuals from outside the state are being hired, while lakhs of people in Maharashtra remain unemployed. The activists questioned whether there were no local youth capable of handling jobs like ticketing in the Metro system.
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Activists from the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti have alleged that individuals from outside Maharashtra are being given jobs in government projects like the Metro, despite not knowing the Marathi language. They questioned whether the Metro administration is misleading the state government or if top leaders, including the chief minister, deputy chief minister, and urban development minister, are deceiving locals. The activists expressed frustration, stating that employees are hired without knowing the local language, asking if Marathi-speaking commuters are silently enduring this. They claimed that this issue extends to projects in Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai Metro 3, and MahaMetro. After traveling on the Mumbai Metro, they felt like they were in Uttar Pradesh, highlighting the loss of jobs for local candidates.
In the three-minute video, activists of the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti are seen insisting that a Metro employee at the ticket counter speak in Marathi. The employee responds, saying, "Mujhe nahi aata, kahase bolu, hum UP se hai" (I don’t know Marathi, how can I speak it, I am from Uttar Pradesh). The activists then question Metro officials about the recruitment process, demanding to know how employees who don't know the local language were hired. They further allege that the employee told them to speak in Hindi, as he did not understand Marathi.