The three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies — Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — have announced a boycott of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ traditional high tea invitation, held before the start of the state legislature’s Monsoon session on Sunday.

Their joint protest comes over multiple issues, with the most prominent being the state government’s controversial plan to introduce Hindi as a third language from Class 1, a move they say threatens Marathi language and culture.

In a detailed seven-page letter sent to the Chief Minister, MVA leaders also raised concerns about the delay in farm loan waivers promised to distressed farmers, misuse of public funds, poor law-and-order conditions, and the stalled opposition to the Rs 86,300 crore Shaktipeeth Mahamarg highway project.

The opposition parties met at the residence of Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the legislative council. Prominent leaders present included Aaditya Thackeray, Sunil Prabhu, and Sachin Ahir from Shiv Sena (UBT); Vijay Wadettiwar, Amin Patel, and Satej Patil from Congress; and Jitendra Awhad and Shashikant Shinde from NCP (SP).

Speaking to the media after their meeting, the MVA leaders accused the ruling BJP-led coalition of failing to protect farmers, ignoring rising unemployment, and failing to control crimes against women. They also criticized what they called “irresponsible” remarks by ruling party MLAs and slammed the imposition of Hindi in Marathi and English-medium schools from Classes 1 to 5.

Aaditya Thackeray further attacked the government over potholes and waterlogging on the Samruddhi Mahamarg, claiming that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation was unfairly fining motorists on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway — fines which had reportedly crossed Rs 12.5 crore.

Congress leader Wadettiwar also highlighted inflated costs of infrastructure projects, referring to a cancelled tunnel and road tender on the Thane-Ghodbunder-Bhayander route after the issue reached the Supreme Court.