By IANS,
Nashik : Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh plans to lead an all-party delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a bid to correct the impression that Maharashtra is unsafe for non-Maharashtrians.
Deshmukh told reporters here that he would soon talk to opposition leaders in this regard. He again denounced the attacks on non-Maharashtrians carried out by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Deshmukh’s planned trip to New Delhi follows a stern letter from the prime minister asking the chief minister to take urgent steps to check the incidents of violence.
On Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s threat not to hold Railway Board examinations in Maharashtra, Deshmukh said such a decision cannot be taken on the basis of an isolated incident involving “misguided youth”.
Earlier, addressing a public meeting, the chief minister denounced the attacks on people from other states living in Maharashtra. Almost all the victims have been from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Deshmukh said that outsiders should not be blamed for the scarcity of jobs in Maharashtra, one of India’s most industrialised states.
“Industrial unrest has led to the closing down of factories and loss of employment,” he said, urging people to be ready to work hard, rather than unleashing anger on others.