Congress, NCP engage in war of words

MUMBAI: The competitive politics over the Marathi constituency has yielded another act of posturing. This time, it is the Maharashtra government itself which has announced setting up an independent department dedicated to the Marathi language. Interestingly, even before the ministry comes into being, two ruling alliance partners, Congress and NCP, are seen engaged in a battle of words over who should head it.

This will be an administrative department handling all state affairs and existing offices pertaining to the protection and conservation of Marathi language, chief minister Ashok Chavan told mediapersons after a Cabinet meeting that approved the proposal. Apart from the budgetary allocation in the 2010-11 budget, the department will also be given a corpus of Rs 10 crore from the supplementary demands. The existing bodies like the Directorate of Language, Rajya

Marathi Vikas Sanstha, and the Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Sanskruti Mandal will now be under this department.
The department will be headed by a secretary. Mr Chavan said till the time this department takes shape, a high-powered committee under the chief secretary would administer the working of all these departments and different schemes for conservation and protection of the Marathi language.

Apparently a political move, the creation of an administrative wing dedicated to Marathi is being perceived as the Congress-led government's attempt at appeasing the native community which is already divided between the old claimant Shiv Sena and the new challenger Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. In fact, a minister belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party joked that the best way to run this department would be outsourcing it to either of the Thackeray cousins.

"By resorting to such measures the government gives an impression that it is following an agenda set by parties like the Shiv Sena or the MNS. This department, like the one formed for the minorities, will achieve nothing other than lip service to the Marathi manoos," the minister remarked.

Barely 24 hours have passed, a tussle to head the ministry is out in the open. The two major partners of the ruling coalition, Congress and NCP, have staked claim over the Marathi ministry. Reacting to chief minister Ashok Chavan's announcement, the NCP said it has the first right over the proposed ministry. The Congress, too, is keen to retain it with itself. The issue is likely to delay the completion of other formalities about the said ministry, a section of the government believes.