Letters: What outsiders?

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has told the state legislature that more than 80 per cent of the workforce in the state’s industrial establishments is local. In other words, the majority of workers are Maharashtrians. This smashes the platform of the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who have been clamouring for the recruitment of local people in local industry in the state.

Both these organisations must also accept the blame for not creating any training facilities for local youth — this is resposible for the fact that Maharashtra is no longer a leading state. It figures somewhere near Orissa as far as the Human Development Index (HDI) is concerned. New projects have stopped coming to Maharashtra . The previous chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, treated the need for industrial investments very lightly, perhaps thinking that it was an entertainment show with his son Ritiesh prancing around. As a result, investors have turned their back to Maharashtra. This shows that all major political parties in Maharashtra are guilty of neglecting the state and are responsible for its downfall.

Vedant A Shinde, Mumbai