The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has threatened to disrupt operations at the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport if locals, especially Marathi-speaking candidates, are not prioritised for jobs created by the project.
At a press conference on Monday, MNS Spokesperson Gajanan Kale cited a Right to Information (RTI) response which, he said, showed that CIDCO lacked a clear policy to reserve jobs for “sons of the soil.” Kale said the airport project, with four terminals, is expected to generate about 1 lakh jobs and alleged that recruitment for the first terminal is already sidelining local applicants.
“The government will give one lakh jobs at Navi Mumbai Airport to migrants,” Kale claimed, adding that the information received via RTI contradicted the stated policy of allocating 80 per cent of jobs to Marathi-speaking people. He warned that if Marathi youth are not prioritised, the MNS will stage a grand march and attempt to block flight operations, citing directives from party chief Raj Thackeray.
According to the news agency PTI, Kale also accused a company based in Ayodhya of duping several Marathi youths with false job promises, saying one young man’s tea-seller father had paid Rs 88,000. He further alleged that CIDCO had neglected and ultimately shut down skill-development programmes meant to prepare the Agri Koli community, the original inhabitants of the acquired land, for airport-related employment.
The MNS said it would mobilise a larger protest, inviting opposition parties under the leadership of Amit Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, if its demands are not met. “It is not a difficult task for MNS workers to demolish the airport runway,” Kale warned.
As per PTI, the claims and threats have significant implications for law and order and for labour policy at the NMIA project. Attempts to reach CIDCO and NMIA authorities for comment were not immediately successful.
Farmer leader quits Shiv Sena (UBT); opposes possible tie-up with MNS
Amid the heightened political tensions and possible collaboration between MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), farm activist Kishore Tiwari has resigned from the Shiv Sena (UBT), citing his opposition to a potential alliance between Uddhav Thackeray`s party and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Tiwari, while resigning from Shiv Sena (UBT) in a release on Monday, said, “MNS was allegedly against Hindi-speaking people, other linguistic minorities and Muslim citizens who, he claimed, are the `main backbone of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Opposition India bloc`,” as cited by news agency PTI.
“In the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, and in 10 of them, its victory was possible only because a substantial number of Hindi-speaking, Muslim, Dalit and OBC people voted for it,” he said.
Former Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishore Tiwari, who was removed as the Sena (UBT) spokesperson in February this year, said that he had earlier urged in an open letter to Uddhav Thackeray not to ally with his cousin Raj Thackeray, alleging the MNS chief was running an agenda against non-Marathi people and Muslims in Maharashtra.
The farmer leader further said that his request was ignored, and hence, he has now decided to quit the party. Tiwari also emphasised that, “Now, for protecting linguistic provincialism and for the harmony and national interest, I am parting ways with the Shiv Sena (UBT).”
(With PTI inputs)
