Gudi Padwa gift: Now, stay in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Marathi

Now, you can communicate with none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Marathi. Thanks to the efforts of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Maharashtra’s very own language has been incorporated as part of the PM’s official App.

MNS vice-president Akhil Chitre had written to the Prime Minister’s Office arguing that the people of Maharashtra had voted for the BJP and so Marathi should be a part of the PM’s App. The argument apparently convinced Modi. “I asked the PMO that if Modi had received votes from Marathi people of Maharashtra, why had he not included the Marathi language in his app,” Chitre said.

So long, English was the first and Guajarati the second out of the total number of nine languages in which one could communicate to the PM through the Modi App which also has the Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil and Telugu options.

“English is the first language while Gujarati is the second language in this App. This proves Modi has a lot of attachment with his state and mother tongue,” Chitre said, adding, “I then wrote to the PMO saying that though Hindi is the national language, it has been given third preference. I wrote to them that the App must use other languages like Marathi, as it is one of the 22 scheduled Indian languages with the fourth largest number of speakers in India.”

Chitre’s letters also said the “Modi government seems that it does not care about the grievances of the Marathi manoos unless the same is written in either English or Gujarati or Hindi. This is an insult to the Marathi-speaking population which is around 73 million (2001)”.

Chitre reminded Modi about the contribution made by the Marathi people and their role in bring the BJP to power both at the Centre and the state. “Modi must not forget that Maharashtra is the land of Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the BJP has come to power in Maharashtra using his name. I brought to the PMO’s notice that if some South Indian languages are included in Modi’s App, so should Marathi,” Chitre said.