Mumbai: Two city advocates Gunaratan Sadavarte and Jaishri Patil have demanded the registration of FIR and immediate arrest of MNS leader Raj Thackeray for allegedly creating disharmony among communities on the issue of Hindi. The MNS is opposed to the April 16 decision of the Mahayuti government to make the teaching of Hindi compulsory in all primary schools.
MNS cadres have held public protests against this decision and also burnt copies of the government notification in this regard. They pointed out that the teaching of Hindi was a part of the central government's new education policy and as such the decision of the state government should be respected.
In a written complaint to the senior inspector of Shivaji Park police station, Sadavarte and Patil, who are associated with the Hindustan Mazdoor Sangh, said the right to education was a fundamental right of children and it was being provided free by the government. By insisting on the denial of teaching of Hindi to students, Thackeray was violating the law. They also accused Thackeray of "instigating" his supporters to publicly oppose the government policy.
The advocates pointed out that MNS workers were staging demonstrations without taking the permission of the police and also threatening those selling Hindi books. These actions were directly affecting the right to education of children. Sadavarte and Patil also stated that they were receiving threats from unknown persons.
