Mumbai, September 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has said he is willing to be portrayed as a “villain” if his efforts to promote working knowledge of Marathi among auto-rickshaw, taxi and app-based cab drivers are criticised by opposition parties.
The minister’s remarks came amid opposition objections to the state government’s decision requiring drivers in the private public transport sector to have a working knowledge of Marathi, while allowing them a one-year extension to acquire the language skills.
Speaking to IANS, Sarnaik said the requirement was not a new law and pointed out that a rule dating back to 1989 already required auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to possess working knowledge of Marathi.
He said “working knowledge” only meant being able to communicate with passengers about matters such as fares and destinations and did not require complete fluency in the language.
“Previous governments failed to implement this, whereas I have done so,” Sarnaik said.
Rejecting claims that the measure targeted people from North India, the minister said Maharashtra and Mumbai were home to people from different parts of the country and that the requirement applied to drivers irrespective of their state of origin.
“If opposition parties view me as a villain for teaching Marathi, then I am happy to play that role,” Sarnaik said, describing himself as a “Marathi Manus” and referring to those who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of Maharashtra.
He also questioned the opposition to asking people who come to Maharashtra for work to learn functional Marathi, particularly as drivers from other states operate taxis and auto-rickshaws across the state.
Sarnaik claimed that a large proportion of migrant drivers came from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He attributed the migration to a lack of employment opportunities in those states and criticised successive governments there.
He also claimed that migration from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Mumbai had declined over the past 15-20 years following the BJP and its allies coming to power in several northern states, although he acknowledged that the movement had not stopped completely.
The minister maintained that the language requirement was intended to facilitate communication between drivers and passengers rather than prevent anyone from living or working in Maharashtra.
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