The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on Wednesday decided to amend the Maharashtra Shops And Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act and make it mandatory for all shops and establishments to use Marathi signboards, including those having less than 10 employees. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting at the Mantralaya. It was also decided that the text should be in large fonts.
A decision to have Marathi boards on shops was taken in 2017 but the implementation was not happening on the ground, said officials.
The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) launched a violent agitation in 2008 around the same issue by giving a public warning to have Marathi signboards on shops and establishments in the state in addition to the existing English ones. This brought the spotlight onto Thackeray’s newly launched party.
Now, critics are equating the Shiv Sena-led MVA government’s move as an attempt to woo the Marathi voter before the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls this year.
State industries minister Subhash Desai, who holds the Marathi language portfolio, said, “This law was there, but implementation wasn’t so effective as there was a slight roadblock. Shops with less than 10 employees were exempted from this, but now this rule has been revisited and necessary amendments in the Act will be done for its implementation. Today the cabinet also agreed that all shops irrespective of the total count of employees should follow this with no exceptions. The signboard can have text in two languages but the font and size have to be the same.”
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