India, Aug. 28 -- Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced a one-year extension for the auto and taxi drivers to learn Marathi, adding that no action would be taken against them till then.

The announcement came days after transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik announced that the licences of auto and taxi drivers who are unable to speak Marathi would be suspended after three months if they failed to learn the language.

A delegation of auto and taxi drivers led by Haji Arafat Shaikh, who is the leader of the BJP's transport wing, met Fadnavis on Thursday. They pointed out that a huge number of drivers could not speak Marathi, and it was not possible for them to acquire a working knowledge of the l...