Two days after the Byculla zoo in Mumbai named the male penguin chick hatched last August Oscar, the BJP on Thursday took on Shiv Sena, accusing it of preferring an English name instead of a Marathi name for the penguin. This comes in the backdrop of the state government making it compulsory for all shops to put up signboards in Marathi.
Speaking to mediapersons, BJP leader Chitra Wagh said, “On the one hand, Shiv Sena has made displaying of name plates in Marathi compulsory. On other hand, it named the penguin Oscar. It clearly shows its double standards on Marathi language.”
She wondered why Sena did not think of a suitable Marathi name for the penguin if it was so concerned about mother tongue.
Reacting to BJP’s criticism, Sena leader and Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “Soon, we are going to have a baby elephant and baby monkey. We will name the elephant Champa and the monkey Chiva. We have taken note of BJP’s concern for Marathi names.”
“What is the rationale of equating a penguin’s name with the Marathi language issue? Penguin is a foreign species. The baby was born from parents who came from foreign. So, what’s wrong in calling the baby Oscar,” she asked.
