MUMBAI: BJP's Kripashankar Singh has urged Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to introduce Marathi as an optional language in secondary and higher secondary schools in the state. This, he said, would help those coming to Maharashtra in search of employment get better jobs.
A former Congress minister, Singh hails from Uttar Pradesh. His letter is clearly aimed at the north Indian community in the state whom BJP is wooing for the civic elections, particularly the BMC elections. Mumbai has a large north-Indian population. Significantly, the Shiv Sena-controlled BMC runs schools which provide education in 11 languages. It is the only civic corporation in the country to do so, even though the Sena has always made Marathi an emotive issue.
