Enron becomes Sena8217;s punching bag, again

As Desai hit out at the Sena for inviting Michael Jackson to Mumbai for a concert, the Sena8217;s Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti SLS stepped up its recent offensive, accusing the US multinational power company Enron of recruiting mainly 8220;outsiders8221; for its Dabhol Project, in blatant disregard of local aspirations. The Samiti also threatened 8220;serious action8221; if Enron did not keep up its promise of providing jobs to villagers and project-affected people.

The Sena leader and former minister Gajanan Kirtikar said people from outside Maharashtra had been employed by Enron in large numbers while locals were poorly represented. 8220;We are in the process of compiling the exact employment figures, and all indications so far are that outsiders have got the upper hand in recruitment. The poor villagers in Dabhol and Guhagar, who lost much of their land due to the project, have been cheated. They were promised jobs but have got nothing,8221; Kirtikar said, warning that the SLS would organise a protest in Dabhol if the villagers did not get the jobs.

He said a delegation of the Samiti had met the company8217;s executive Sanjeev Khandekar in this regard, but no positive response was forthcoming. Local villagers have already filed a case against the company in the Bombay High Court for not providing employment opportunities as promised. The hearing is scheduled for July 12.

Kirtikar also claimed that Maharashtrians were being systematically denied job opportunities in Mumbai. 8220;The north Indian lobby is working to promote its own people, and the Bihari influx in particular is tremendous. We have drawn up an agitational programme to fight this lobby and will soon take a long march to Delhi to highlight the injustice being done to locals,8221; he said.

To uphold the dignity of the Marathi language, Kirtikar said, the Samiti would demand implementation of the three-language formula upheld by Parliament in 1968. Marathi has had to take a back seat in multi-lingual cities like Mumbai due to neglect of this formula by the authorities, he added.

The Samiti has also decided to branch out into Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Konkan where 8220;rapid industrialisation is taking place and outsiders alarmingly grabbing jobs8221;. It has demanded radical changes in the working constituents of the Banking Services Recruitment Board, Railway Recruitment Board, Staff Selection Commission and the Union Public Service Commission to facilitate employment for sons of the soil, Kirtikar said. In addition, the Samiti has demanded that all recruitment in the private and public sector take place through regional employment exchanges and job-oriented vocational courses be introduced after Standard XII, and an institution formed for Marathi-speaking IAS and IPS aspirants.

Meanwhile, Vijay Kalantri, president of the All India Association of Industries has condemned the Sainiks8217; act of blackening signboards and has demanded that they be booked under provisions of the Mumbai Police Act. 8220;Mumbai belongs to all communities, and putting up signboards in Marathi does not prove that you are a Maharashtrian. It should be in the heart, not in print,8221; Kalantri said, adding the Sena8217;s act was timed to coincide with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh8217;s visit abroad to woo investors, and wasdesigned to undermine efforts underway to restore Maharashtra8217;s image as the most progressive state.