MUMBAI, 10 April 2008 — The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) yesterday launched the second phase of its agitation against North Indian migrants with MNS President Raj Thackeray ordering private industries to recruit 80 percent of locals and replace the existing migrant workers with Marathi people.
MNS Chief Coordinator Manoj Chavan told journalists yesterday that the labor wing of the party had sent letters to six private industries directing them to fill in at least 80 percent vacancies with local people and with those living in the state for the past 15 years.
Similar letters are also being dispatched to 45,000 industries in the state asking them to reserve the vacancies for the Marathi residents, he said.
Chavan warned that if the industries ignored the MNS directive they would not be allowed to function in the state. The MNS, Chavan said, is planning to file a Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay High Court demanding reservation of vacancies for locals in private industries.
The MNS leader alleged that the North Indian migrants were depriving Marathi people of jobs.
In a related development, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.R. Patil told the state legislature the Maharashtra government would urge the Federal government to amend the Motor Vehicles Act in order to allow the use of Marathi number plates on all vehicles including private cars, auto-rickshaws and taxis.
Responding to Sena legislator Madhukar Sarpotdar’s remarks, who alleged that vehicle owners in Mumbai, Pune and Thane districts were being prosecuted for putting number plates in Marathi, Patil said that in 1993, permission was granted to write registration symbol and number in Marathi on any part of the vehicle other than the space reserved for number plate.
“But since there are problems, we would definitely ask the federal government to allow use of Marathi number plates on all vehicles,” the deputy chief minister said.
