Migrants must get MNS nod, says Raj Thackeray

Party chief says they should also take government permission.

A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that States will have to take permission from his government before hiring workers, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has said that any migrant entering Maharashtra would, in that case, need to take permission from his party, police and the State government.

Mr. Thackeray said on Monday that the Maharashtra government must look into the matter seriously. “In future, migrants desiring to enter our State will need to be registered and their personal details and identification proof will have to be submitted to the police station,” he said. Only if these requirements were met diligently would they be allowed to enter Maharashtra. “A strict adherence to the above needs to be followed by Maharashtra,” he said.

Mr. Adityanath came up with his permission requirement on Sunday, claiming that migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh were not treated well by the States they went to work in. The MNS retort is seen as an aggressive push by the party of its sons of the soil agenda.

Political leaders, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, have said that the exodus of workers from Maharashtra had opened up vacancies in factories and businesses and appealed to the local youth to come forward and take them.