Mumbai, June 19 -- The Maharashtra government has issued an order making Hindi "generally" the third language for the students of Classes 1 to 5 studying in English and Marathi medium schools in the state, triggering a row in the state with the opposition accusing chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of "stabbing" the Marathi people in the chest. Fadnavis, however, clarified that the "compulsion" for students to learn Hindi has been removed, and now any Indian language can be chosen as the third language as he dubbed the entire controversy as unnecessary. An amended government resolution (GR) order issued on Tuesday said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, but gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi. The School Education Department issued the GR as part of the implementation of the 'State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024', in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. According to the GR, Hindi will "generally" be the third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools. "Those who wish to learn any other language as an option to Hindi, should meet the expectation of 20 students from each standard in a school. In such a situation, a teacher for that particular language will be made available or the language will be taught online," the order stated. Marathi will be a compulsory language in all medium schools, the GR said. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said the fresh government order on the three-language formula was a "planned plot" to impose Hindi and accused the ruling Mahayuti of deceiving people. "Hindi will be the compulsory third language. If any other language is to be learned, the requirement is for at least 20 students. It's a show of giving an alternative and the planned plot to impose Hindi. This is BJP's anti-Maharashtra agenda and a conspiracy to eliminate the Marathi language, Marathi identity and Marathi people," Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged in a post on X....