India, Aug. 28 -- Days after transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik announced that the licences of auto and taxi drivers unable to speak Marathi would be suspended after three months if they failed to learn the language till then, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stepped in and on Thursday announced a one-year extension for the drivers. The CM added that no action would be taken against them till then.

With this, Fadnavis killed two birds with one stone, said political observers. One, he cornered the Eknath Shinde-led Sena and Sarnaik, who were playing the Marathi card, and underlined his authority in the state government. Two, he pacified the substantial number of North Indian migrants in the city, who have been the BJP'...