Shivraj Singh Chauhan

Bhopal, Nov. 6: People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are not welcome in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan today did a Raj Thackeray and declared that he would not allow “outsiders” and “people from Bihar” to work in the state.

The statement from the normally temperate BJP leader, made at a poverty alleviation programme in Satna, over 500km from here, sent shockwaves through political circles and civil society.

“Yeh kaise ho sakta hai ki Satna mein factory lage aur doosre rajya ke log kaam karen (How is it possible that a factory is set up in Satna and persons from other states come and work here)?”

“I will ask all private companies not to hire labour from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he added, the ominous statement echoing Raj Thackeray, the north Indian-baiter leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The 51-year Chauhan, who took over as chief minister in 2005, is not known for making hawkish or belligerent statements, his tenure being marked by fewer communal disturbances. Chauhan is himself never short of harping on the theme of harmony and inclusiveness. Late tonight, the chief minister clarified he did not intend to hurt anyone.

The Congress, trying to claw its way back into the state, was quick to pounce on the chief minister. State Congress chief Suresh Pachauri said: “It is a shocking remark coming from a person who is holding a responsible post in public life. I ask the BJP central leadership to come clean on it. Do they endorse his views or intend to act against him?”

BJP insiders sought to underplay Chauhan’s remarks. A senior party functionary said the chief minister’s statement should be seen in the context of economic backwardness in Satna and other parts of Rewanchal.

“What he (Chauhan) implied was that there are too many unemployed youths who should be hired to work in local mines and cement plants,” said a source.

Pachauri, however, scoffed at the explanation. “Surely there are better ways of articulating it. He could have said that industries should give preference to local youths. But naming persons of a particular state is blatantly wrong, politically incorrect and speaks of the mindset,” the former Union minister said.

The statement has left Bihar leaders fuming. RJD chief Lalu Prasad took a jab at Chauhan, claiming the chief minister had lost his mental balance. “Not only that, what he has said is unconstitutional,” Lalu Prasad said, asserting that Indian citizens have a right to work in any state.

The Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan, an ally of Lalu Prasad, demanded Chauhan’s resignation.

A section of BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh, who did not wish to go on record, said more than Raj Thackeray, Chauhan seemed to be parroting Gujarat’s Narendra Modi. Although Modi has never sought to discourage labourers from other states, he has been a strong votary of “Gujarat for Gujaratis” and Gujarati pride.

“The sub-text in Chauhan’s remark is that locals in Madhya Pradesh should get precedence over all resources, including work opportunities,” said a BJP source.