It was time to take the pledge for Mumbai. But ‘Me Marathi’ was not the theme. It was the voice of India that resonated at the YB Chavan Centre on Monday as the top leadership of the Democratic Front government spoke in three different languages — Marathi, Hindi and English. For a while, the assurance of unity made the audience forget about the regional clamour being made by the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
Taking the vow to safeguard Mumbai from terrorist attacks, chief minister Ashok Chavan, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and home minister RR Patil joined hands to show that the administration was prepared to take on any one who would challenge the security of commercial capital of India. It was an occasion for the trio to showcase the good work done by the government to strengthen both its administration and its police force in the past one year.
RR Patil stuck to his son-of-the-soil image, speaking in Marathi. Bhujbal spoke in Hindi, and that too in the style and tone of a North Indian. Chavan chose English. Seated on the dais, the trio looked somewhat like like Amar, Akbar and Anthony of Maharashtra.
The language has always been an integral part of politics in Maharashtra. So, the three top leaders speaking in three different languages came as a surprise. More so, as it came shortly after the state assembly saw MNS members attacking Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for taking the oath in Hindi.
The concept of Marathi in Mantralaya, the headquarters of the state government, has always been an accepted norm. Even the bureaucrats go the extra mile to speak in Marathi with their political masters.
The politicians on their part occasionally indulge themselves in speaking other languages, even at the risk of being “misquoted” by the media. A case in point is RR Patil’s in famous statement: “Bade bade saheron mein ek adh chhote chhote hadsa ho jate hain… (Small accidents do happen occasionally in big cities). He made the remark after the 26/11 terror attack and lost his job as the home minister. A defiant Patil maintained that his statement was distorted.
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