Press Trust of India / Mumbai Jan 27, 2010, 12:19 IST
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has said the recent controversy over making knowledge of Marathi mandatory for issuing taxi permits in Mumbai was unfortunate and said the metropolis belongs to all of India.
"We are all Indians first. Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi belong to all Indians. That is the reality," he said yesterday during a panel discussion at the London School of Economics organised to release Rajya Sabha MP N K Singh's book, 'Not by Reason Alone: The Politics of Change'.
Ambani's remark that while India's corporate world had moved away from 'licence raj' after economic liberalisation, Mumbai's "poor taxi-walla is still dealing with licence raj" was received with applause from the gathering.
Responding to a question on the taxi drivers controversy, Ambani said the real challenge and opportunity was whether India was able to create 15 to 20 million new jobs every year.
The Maharashtra government has, however, rescinded its order on making knowledge of Marathi a pre-condition to awarding taxi permits a day after proposing it.
"Employment is the biggest challenge in the coming years. We are not moving fast enough," Ambani said.
Rajya Sabha MP N K Singh termed the controversy over renewing taxi licences in Mumbai as "misplaced populism".
Ambani noted that many Indian professionals abroad were returning because of the many opportunities for self- fulfillment in India.
He said the next 20 years would be full of opportunities for the returning Indian professionals that will have an impact on millions of people back home.
"India is blessed with connections in Europe and in the US that raise our status as a country. The achievements of our diaspora help India, but whatever had to be done in the West, has been done. Now is the time to come back; there are more opportunities in India," he said.
After the event, Ambani was mobbed by eager students, most of them Indians, as they vied to speak to him and take photographs with him. He cheerfully interacted with them and invited them to Mumbai.
Security personnel had to intervene to escort Ambani to his car.
Well, every part of India ( including Kashmir ) belongs to all Indians. However, within a State, the local people must have preference in jobs specially in Class III and Class IV category, over people from outside the State. A burning case is the State of Orissa, where majority of railway jobs in Class III and Class IV category hace been cornered by outsiders, mostly from Bihar and West Bengal, courtesy the former raiway minister and the present railway minister. As the educated unemployment is mounting in Orissa, One will not be surprised if the local people start Maharastra type movement to oust the Outsiders. Hence Govt of India and the State Govt must ensure that the aspiration of local people is not sacrificed & crushed and due justice is meted out to them with honour.
DEAR ALL,
IT IS SHAME FOR US THAT WE ARE TRYING TO IMPOSE RULES ON COMMON PEOPLE FOR SPEAKING SPECIFIC LANGUAGE FOR RESIDING IN SPECIFIC STATE/CITY WITHIN OUR OWN COUNTRY.
OUR LEADERS ARE SHADING CROCODILE TEARS ON THE ISSUE LIKE INDIAN STUDENTS ATTACKED IN AUSTRALIA & OTHER COUNTRIES HOWEVER, NO BODY HAD RAISED AN ALARM WHEN INDIANS WERE ATTACKED IN INDIA ITSELF (NORTH INDIANS IN MAHARASHTRA).
SO, DEAR FRIENDS IF WE ARE THINKING THAT WE ARE INDIAN FIRST THEN OUR ACTS MUST BE ACCORDINGLY & WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR UNITY ONCE AGAIN SPECIALLY AGAINST DIRTY LEADERS.
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