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NO stranger to controversy, Kamal Nath has struck a discordant note soon after taking charge as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Promising more jobs for local residents, he has observed that they are being deprived of employment by ‘outsiders’ from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. On his first day in office, he made it official that industries would get incentives only if they hired 70 per cent of their staff from the central Indian state. At the outset, the Congress CM has sent out the message that he won’t exactly be welcoming migrants with open arms, while at the same time restricting the recruitment leeway for industrial houses. The nine-time MP’s political rivals have predictably gone for the jugular, accusing him of taking the divisive route.
Already under fire from the Sikh community over his alleged role in the 1984 riots, Nath has made even more foes overnight. Born in UP, he is an alumnus of The Doon School as well as Kanpur’s DAV College. The cosmopolitan values he must have learnt at the elite institution in Dehradun — where his friends included none other than Sanjay Gandhi — seem to have no place in his scheme of things for MP.
With his ‘outsider’ outburst, Nath has joined the ranks of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who has repeatedly shown his displeasure for ‘job-grabbing’ North Indians. No state can afford to ignore local talent, but shooing away skilled/unskilled migrants is a regressive step. Providing a level playing field is what counts to ensure that merit takes precedence over mere domicile. According to the ease of doing business rankings, MP figures among the top-10 performers. Nath’s populist stand could have a bearing on the quantity and quality of investment into the state, which was under BJP rule for 15 years. As a resurgent Congress strives to re-establish its footprint across the country, it needs to rein in the likes of Nath, whom Indira Gandhi had fondly described as her ‘third son’. These stalwarts can prove to be quite a handful for the party if given a free hand, notwithstanding their long-standing loyalty to the Gandhi family.