PUNE — Former federal minister Mohan Dharia yesterday criticized Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and the Maharashtra government for mishandling the situation after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s agitation against north Indians.
Speaking at a meeting organized by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), Dharia criticized the government for not taking action against MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Attack on north Indians was an attack on the integrity of the nation, he said. “The state government should have taken strong action against those who had created problems,” he said.
In the presence of Jayant Umranikar, the city police commissioner, Dharia complained that the police did not act properly. He, however, admitted that the strength of the police was not enough to tackle the situation. Umranikar declined to comment on Dharia’s statement, saying, “Political issues should be dealt with politically.” In the wake of exodus of north Indian laborers from the city, Umranikar urged industrialists to provide workers with basic facilities in order to instill confidence in them.
Umranikar dismissed the notion that Pune, the second home of the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray, was unsafe after the MNS violence.
Even though violence was reported from several parts of the city, Umranikar said, “Nothing has happened in Pune. Though there has been a steady outflow of laborers, there is no exodus.
“The electronic media and a section of the print media were spreading panic by repeatedly telecasting and publishing stories about migration. Local landlords, gangsters, slum goons are taking advantage of the situation. We have registered some cases against miscreants,” Umranikar stated.
“The police are ready to cope with any situation. We are carrying out patrols in Pune and the neighboring twin town of Pimpri-Chinchwad. We have even canceled leaves and weekly offs of police personnel,” the police chief concluded.
