MUMBAI, June 24 -- Facing criticism over the perceived imposition of Hindi as the third language in schools, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the government would seek the views of language experts, litterateurs and political parties before arriving at a final decision. Fadnavis made the announcement following a review meeting held late on Monday. The move comes following accusations from opposition parties who allege that the BJP-led Mahayuti government is attempting to undermine Marathi and betray the Marathi people by insisting on teaching Hindi in schools across Maharashtra. "It was resolved in the meeting that the presentation and consultation process will be carried out involving scholars of the Marathi language, literary figures, political leaders and other stakeholders," according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office. Fadnavis directed school education minister Dada Bhuse to initiate the next phase of consultations. "We have decided to make a presentation explaining various alternatives to ensure that Marathi students do not face any disadvantages under the Academic Bank of Credits provision of the National Education Policy," said a senior government official. Controversy broke out when the state started rolling out the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. Of the three languages, the mother tongue (or state language) is compulsory. Of the remaining two, one should be any other Indian language. On April 16, the state directed that Hindi would be the mandatory third language from Classes 1 to 5 across the state. The move was part of the phased implementation of the NEP at the primary school level, to be implemented from the 2025-26 academic year. Although the state insisted that the choice of Hindi as the third language was made in consonance with the NEP, it triggered strong opposition from political, social and cultural groups. Following the backlash, Fadnavis on April 20 declared that Hindi would not be compulsory and students could opt for any other regional language. On June 17, a fresh order was issued, saying, "Hindi will generally be the third language in Marathi- and English-medium schools for Class 1 to 5." The new Government Resolution (GR) clarified that students could opt for an Indian language other than Hindi provided at least 20 students from the same class make such a request - a provision that would be tough to meet. The state government hoped this technicality would get it off the hook, but opposition parties have been relentless in their attack. Following Fadnavis's announcement on Monday, school education minister Dada Bhuse said, "We will approach political leaders, scholars, litterateurs and others, and explain to them the interests of students from Maharashtra and why the decision was taken. We will also take their suggestions and a final decision will be taken by the chief minister....