Three days before the state goes to polls, incumbent Chief Minister
Ashok Chavan said that the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
will not stop migrants from entering the city.

“How can we discriminate?” asked Chavan during a discussion on the
Maharashtra Assembly polls conducted by Rajdeep Sardesai for CNN IBN.
Other panelists included Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Bharat Kumar
Raut and senior journalists Nikhil Wagle and Kumar Ketkar. 

“The Constitution allows people to live and work in any part of
India. And my government will stand by the Constitution,” said Chavan.

The Marathi manoos seems to be at the centre of the Assembly polls
with all parties trying to woo him. While the manifesto of the
Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance promises a ‘Translation
Directorate’ to translate all major literature in the world into
Marathi and a Marathi week, the Congress-NCP has promised to start a
‘Marathi language conservation fortnight’.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has pitched itself as a party for the
Marathi manoos. But Raut insisted that was the Sena’s turf. “The Sena
was born to fight for the legitimate rights of the Marathi manoos and
we stand for it,” said Raut. “There could be many players but that
doesn’t mean our stand is diluted.”

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had recently said people should
beware of those who use the Maratha warrior king’s name for political
gains. But the Congress-led state government received flak for doing
just that when it announced a Rs 350-crore Shivaji memorial off the
Mumbai coast.

Chavan defended the move saying it was a “long cherished dream of
the people”. Ketkar chose to disagree. “This is a completely misplaced
priority. People didn’t demand a statue,” Ketkar said. “Everybody
respects Shivaji but nobody demanded that the environment be destroyed.
Shivaji Maharaj would not have liked this himself.”

Ketkar also criticised the Sena saying it has achieved noting for
the Marathi manoos. “The Sena was formed in 43 years ago and they are
still fighting for the same cause, which means they have not been able
to do anything.”

Chavan said that his government was taking steps for the ‘bhoomiputra’.

“The government has taken steps to see that locals get employment.
We have reserved 80 per cent jobs for locals since the 1990s.”

He also took the debate as a chance to market other achievements of
his government. “We have been able to add 2,500 MW of power in
Maharashtra. Private investment in power is coming up,” he said.

“The Government of India has finalised new projects. The state
government also has some projects planned. By 2012 Maharashtra will
have surplus power. That’s a plan.”

Responding to an audience question about rebellion, he said that the
Congress-NCP combine said his party expected rebels joining it to adopt
the party’s ideology.

“This (rebellion) is a phenomenon on the eve of elections. In the
last 30 years, several times people have left. But the ideology of the
Congress is secular. And we expect him (a rebel) to become secular when
he joins the party.”