Azmi asks for Assembly notes in Hindi, says unfamiliar with Marathi

The Samajwadi Party’s city chief Abu Azmi has stirred up controversy — again. He has asked the Assembly Secretariat to also distribute documents on proceedings of the Assembly in Hindi, apart from Marathi, reports HT Correspondent.

The Samajwadi Party’s city chief Abu Azmi has stirred up controversy — again.

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He has asked the Assembly Secretariat to also distribute documents on proceedings of the Assembly in Hindi, apart from Marathi. His stated reason: He studied in Uttar Pradesh (UP), in the Hindi medium, which is why he is not familiar with Marathi.

“I want the copy of the proceedings in Hindi as I am not familiar with Marathi. I have committed no crime as Hindi is the national language,” said Azmi, who is currently campaigning in UP for its by-elections.

Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena reacted strongly against this: “If Azmi wants the documents of the Assembly in Hindi, he should go to UP. Here, the proceedings will be in Marathi, the state’s official language. We will oppose any such move if the Legislature Secretariat plans to oblige Azmi,” he said.

The Shiv Sena and BJP also criticised the move. “There should be no compromise on the issue. If Azmi is learning the language, he can do so only by repeatedly reading the proceedings in Marathi,” said Sena leader Subhash Desai. BJP leader Vinod Tawde suggested Azmi migrate back to his native state.

He said he meant no offence to the Marathi language and that he is making efforts to learn it. “My opponents are trying to politicise this.”