Activists of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and later those of the Shiv Sena today attacked 17 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai, protesting “inadequate representation” to locals and chased away candidates from north India.About 10 people have been arrested so far for disrupting the examination and targeting candidates, police said. Five candidates were admitted to hospitals in Thane and Kalyan after being assaulted by MNS activists. Condemning the attack, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad demanded a ban on the MNS, calling Raj Thackeray a “mental case”. “I strongly condemn the incident. There should be an inquiry into the attack. There should be strong action against that party. MNS should be banned,” he told reporters in New Delhi.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Maharashtra counterpart Vilasrao Deshmukh and asked him to ensure the safety of students from Bihar. He called the MNS “a divisive force” and demanded strong action against it. Railway officials said they had received over two lakh applications for posts of Enquiry-cum-Reservation Clerk, Assistant Station Master and Goods Guards. While they did not give numbers for those who finally took the examination, officials said the turnout was low in view of the MNS threat.Defending the attacks, MNS spokesperson Nitin Sardesai said: “It’s been happening for years now and the locals have not been getting jobs adequately in the Railways. When there are enough people, both skilled and unskilled, who could be employed, why call people from other states.” When it was pointed out that the Shiv Sena too had carried out attacks in Navi Mumbai, he said: “When we do something, they have to copy us.”Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: “We had informed Railway authorities to give priority to local youth, irrespective of state, when it comes to the recruitment of Class III and IV employees. But they didn’t listen. So we had no option but strike.”
