Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that speaking Marathi was mandatory in the state and emphasised his government's move to make the language compulsory in line with the implementation of the new education policy, news agency ANI reported.

Speaking to reporters while attending the Mumbai Metro Line-7A tunnel breakthrough, Fadnavis spoke about the New Education Policy, and said, "We have already implemented the new education policy... As per the policy, we are attempting that everyone should know Marathi as well as the language of the country."

He said that the policy encourages the use of one common communicable language across the country, and in Maharashtra, the government has already taken steps to ensure the use of Marathi, reported ANI.

"With this, the centre ideated this policy so that there would be one communicable language in the country... However, in Maharashtra, we have already decided to make Marathi compulsory. Everyone has to speak Marathi in Maharashtra, but they can learn any other language if they want to," the Maharashtra CM said.

The statement comes amid ongoing discussions on language use and linguistic policies in different states.

The state has been witnessing cases of vandalism and harassment recently by politically backed groups towards the non-Marathi speaking crowd, ANI reported.

Earlier on April 2, Fadnavis stated that while there is nothing wrong with agitating for the promotion of the Marathi language in the state, it should remain within the bounds of the law.

He also warned that any individual or group resorting to unlawful actions would face appropriate legal consequences.

This statement came in the wake of an incident in which a security guard was allegedly assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers for allegedly disrespecting the Marathi language.

Following this incident, MNS chief Raj Thackeray asked his party workers to halt the agitation demanding mandatory use of the Marathi language in banks and other establishments across the state, as per an official statement from the party.