Mumbai, June 19 -- Opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government for its new order making Hindi the default, although not compulsory, third language in state board schools, saying it was an indirect attempt at "Hindi imposition" in the state. While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stressed that Hindi was not being made compulsory and was only optional, opposition leaders accused the Mahayuti government of "stabbing Maharashtra and the Marathi language in the heart". Leading the charge was Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who appealed to state schools not to implement the order. "I would be thankful if they oppose the decision. But if they help the government by enforcing Hindi, then it will be treated as anti-Maharashtra activity. Our party workers will then visit them to have a discussion on the same," Thackeray said at a press conference. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, "Hindi will remain the compulsory third language; if any other language is to be learned, there must be a minimum of 20 students, which means this is just a facade of choice - a well-planned imposition of Hindi." NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said, "I am of the opinion that things should not be imposed forcibly. Why is the government forcing it? Let the parents decide what language their children should learn. The central government should not force their decision on any of the states." Responding to the criticism, Fadnavis clarified that the compulsion of learning Hindi had been removed. "We had made Hindi mandatory in the past, but it was removed by issuing a fresh order. Now, we have said that the student can learn any third Indian language."...