Permits only for Marathi manoos or no cabs: Raj

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has threatened to bring Mumbai's taxi fleet to a standstill if Marathi-speaking people do not get taxi permits.

Raj issued the threat while addressing a press conference at the Bandra MIG club on Thursday that was in response to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's clarification on taxi permit row.

Chavan clarified that the local language eligibility clause for taxi permits can mean Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and other local 'languages'.

Accusing the chief minister of watering down the Cabinet decision taken on Wednesday to make local language clause mandatory for 4000 new taxi permits to be issued by the state, Thackaray said: "More than the welfare of the people Congress CMs are more concerned about what 'Madam' (Sonia Gandhi) would think. Our CM should do a part time job with CMs from southern states to practise how

to know to remain steadfast in their decisions.'

He added that local language clause was the collective decision of the Cabinet and questioned as to how the chief minister could unilaterally go back on the Cabinet decision.

He said that local language of Maharashtra can only be Marathi and cannot be interpreted as any other language.

"Our stand is clear that if Marathi people do not get the new permits to be issued by transport department then we will not allow a single taxi to ply on the road," Thackeray said, without mincing words and added for good measure, "Those who want to think this as a threat are free to think so, we wont go back on our stand."

Thackeray claimed that government was not keen in providing employment to unemployed Marathi youth.

"The taxi permits can provide employment to the children of farmers, who committed suicide and would be a source of livelihood to them. However, the government does not want do so. The state employment exchange is a farce and should be shutdown," said Thackeray.