MUMBAI, 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 language in just three months. When they demanded extra time and protection against the action by the transport department, Fadnavis agreed to give them relief. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Fadnavis said, "This afternoon, a delegation of auto and taxi drivers met me and requested additional time to learn Marathi. Most of them are not very educated so they will require more time. I have decided to give them a year's extension, and from today, no action will be taken against them for a year." Shaikh thanked Fadnavis for the relief. "We welcome the decision announced by the CM," he said. "Some people were attempting to play politics with the Marathi issue. But now CM Fadnavis has addressed the concerns of drivers."...