MUMBAI, 11 March 2008 — Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said yesterday that migrant workers from northern Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who had fled the state after violent attacks by activists of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) last month, were reporting back for work.
Speaking to reports on the eve of the budget session, Deshmukh said some workers had returned to Nashik and Pune. “Discrimination on the basis of Marathi and non-Marathi is not acceptable to the Maharashtra government,” he said. Deshmukh disputed the fact that all those who left for their native places in north India last month were fleeing the violence. Some of the workers had left to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi with their families, the chief minister asserted.
“All people living here contribute to the development of the state and Maharashtra respects people from all states,” he said.
Citing his government’s liberal policy, he said the state conducted Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Board exams in languages such as Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, besides Marathi and English. He, however, said Marathi was the language of the state and could not be ignored. The chief minister asserted that Marathi will continue to be the official language of the state and the government would not compromise on this issue.
On the MNS campaign to drive non-Marathis out of the state, Deshmukh said: “It is time-proven that no law can stop the movement of people from one part of the country to the other. However, it is also a fact that when local trains are full to capacity, those who can’t board wait.” Deshmukh said he had received letters from several industrialists from Pune and Nashik complaining about the financial losses they suffered owing to the exodus.
