Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jun 24: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday apologised for the pronunciation and factual mistakes made while reading condolence motions in Marathi during Monday's Assembly proceedings, saying the errors were unintentional and caused by technical issues in the material provided to him.
Addressing the House amid mounting criticism, Narwekar said the mistakes resulted from a faint printout, small font size and inaccuracies in the brief prepared for him. He stressed that he holds the Marathi language in the highest regard and had no intention of disrespecting anyone, particularly legendary singer Asha Bhosle.
“If the sentiments of the people of Maharashtra or members of this House have been hurt, I express my sincere regret,” Narwekar said.
Explaining the circumstances, he noted that he had to read out a total of twelve condolence motions and that the document handed to him contained several errors that inadvertently got read out during the proceedings.
“The printout I received was faint, the font was very small and there were certain technical glitches. The mistakes happened unintentionally,” he told the Assembly.
Defending his record, Narwekar highlighted his longstanding association with Marathi as the official language of the state.
“Like everyone else, I take immense pride in the Marathi language, perhaps even more so. Over the last four years as Speaker, I have delivered numerous speeches and conducted extensive House proceedings in Marathi. No one, especially the Speaker of the Assembly, would ever intentionally disrespect an icon like Asha tai Bhosle,” he said.
The controversy erupted during Monday’s legislative session when Narwekar read a condolence resolution paying tribute to veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle and political thinker Deendayal Upadhyaya.
During the reading, he made several pronunciation errors and factual mistakes, including incorrectly referring to Asha Bhosle’s father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, as Deendayal Mangeshkar.
The incident quickly went viral on social media, drawing criticism from users who questioned the Speaker’s Marathi pronunciation and the accuracy of the official text.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray strongly criticised the episode, expressing disappointment over the errors being committed during a solemn condolence motion and questioning why no member of the House intervened to correct them.
In a sarcastic remark that gained widespread attention online, Thackeray asked whether someone had “eaten bhel from the paper before handing it to the Speaker,” suggesting the document appeared so disjointed that it was difficult to read coherently.
The matter was also raised in the Assembly on Wednesday by Opposition members.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ajay Choudhari, who represents the Shivadi constituency, demanded accountability and called for action against those responsible for preparing the erroneous document.
“Those who supplied a printout containing such mistakes should be held accountable. Such errors damage the image of the Speaker and undermine the dignity of this august House,” Choudhari said.