The withdrawal of the government resolution regarding the teaching of Hindi in Maharashtra's primary schools is being viewed differently across the state's political spectrum. For over two weeks, political opposition to the resolution had been gathering momentum, with protests set to culminate in a march in South Mumbai.
However, the Devendra Fadnavis government appears to have defanged the opposition by withdrawing the resolution a week before the planned march.
For the uninitiated, the controversy erupted last month when the Maharashtra government issued a resolution to comply with the Three-Language Formula as per the Union government's new education policy.
According to the resolution, students from classes one to four would have to study Hindi as the default third language if there were not enough students to study other languages.
Raj Thackeray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, was the first to object, alleging that it was a subtle ploy to impose Hindi on Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) also announced its opposition. Last week, both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray announced separate events to protest; however, they later decided to participate in a single protest march from Girgaon to Azad Maidan.
On Sunday, Mr Fadnavis announced that the resolution had been withdrawn and a committee would be formed to devise a new formula.
Many political pundits believe this is a masterstroke by Mr Fadnavis, as he has robbed the opposition of a key issue ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
Had the government not softened its stance, say critics, the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) could have capitalised on the issue significantly.
However, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray portray the decision as their victory. Their supporters claim that the Fadnavis government's adamant approach could have alienated Marathi voters.
There are also whispers in Maharashtra's political corridors that the entire protest was a "fixed match" between the BJP and the MNS. This suspicion arose because, before the MNS announced its protest, a closed-door meeting took place between Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray at Hotel Taj Lands End in Mumbai. Some suspect the resolution was deliberately issued to allow the MNS to revive its political relevance by protesting against it.
A revived MNS could dent Shiv Sena (UBT)'s vote bank if a truce between the Thackeray cousins does not materialise.
