Addressing reporters, Sarnaik said, “The decision taken by the state’s Chief Minister is a decision of the Mahayuti government. As the Minister of Transport, the decision he took is binding upon us… We do not wish to snatch away anyone’s livelihood.”

Explaining the motivation behind the mandate, Sarnaik stated, “Our point is simply that one should have an affinity for Maharashtra’s culture and its soil. Just as every state has its own identity, we believe we should have a Marathi identity… During this year, however, you must become proficient in Marathi, not just a smattering of words, but the ability to communicate fluently with others, just as we do. The extension was granted solely for the Marathi language requirement, not to exempt anyone from legal action.”

The decision has elicited mixed reactions from auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers across Maharashtra. Panchu Yadav, a taxi driver, welcomed the additional time but questioned the compulsory nature of the deadline. “Yes, I know Marathi… There shouldn’t be a time limit… If we were forced to learn Marathi, we should have been given that provision at the time of issuing the license. But we can still learn Marathi as we please. We have no problem… It’s good that he’s given us a year’s time. But we shouldn’t be bound by it… I know enough Marathi to meet our business needs… There’s some politicisation in this issue too,” he said.

Another taxi driver from Jharkhand expressed similar views. He said, “I don’t know what problem the government has with Hindi. My clients who take the taxi never have an issue with me speaking Hindi… I don’t insist on using my own language. Hindi is our country’s language, after all. If someone speaks to me in Marathi, I will certainly reply in Marathi; that’s not a problem… I am unclear on whether this rule applies only to taxi drivers or to others as well.”