Aamir Khan jumped right into the whole Marathi vs Hindi debate today when he showed up to vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election.
After voting, he talked to reporters, urging people in Mumbai to get out and vote. He also gave a thumbs-up to how well the polling was organised. He spoke in Marathi at first, but some reporters wanted him to say it all again in Hindi.
‘Hindi Mein? Yeh Maharashtra Hai’: Aamir Khan
“In Hindi? This is Maharashtra, bhai,” Aamir said, grinning. When another journalist mentioned that his message would be broadcast in Delhi too, Aamir just rolled with it. “Oh, it’s going to Delhi? The arrangements are really good. I ask everyone, please come out and vote. Every vote matters.”
Language Row in Maharashtra
The whole language question is touchy in Maharashtra, and it’s bubbled up again just before the BMC election. BJP leader Kripashankar Singh stirred things up when he said that a Hindi speaker would become Mumbai’s Mayor.
That didn’t go down well with Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, who have joined forces again after twenty years apart.
Both Thackerays called on Marathi voters not to split their votes. Raj Thackeray didn’t mince words: “This is the last election for the Marathi man. Miss it, and you’re done. Stand together for Marathi and for Maharashtra. Mumbai exists because so many people sacrificed for it.”
What did Devendra Fadnavis say earlier?
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tried to calm things down, he said non-Marathi speakers are totally safe in Mumbai and took a shot at the Thackerays for pointing fingers at the poor.
“This is the third generation of North Indians in Mumbai. They’re Mumbaikars through and through—their food, their culture, their festivals. Sure, there have been a few incidents, but who do the Thackerays go after? Cab drivers, rickshaw drivers. It’s just for their own publicity,” he said.
