PM raps Maha Govt on violence against non-Maharashtrians

Manmohan Singh has rapped the Maharashtra govt. on the violence in Mumbai against non-Maharashtrians and conveyed the "sense of the cabinet" on the need to control this.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rapped the Maharashtra government on the violence in Mumbai against non-Maharashtrians and conveyed the "sense of the cabinet" on the need to control this.

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"The prime minister informed the cabinet that he had written a strongly-worded letter to the Maharashtra chief minister and that he would convey the sense of the cabinet to the Maharashtra government," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said in Delhi on Friday.

He was briefing the media on the deliberations of a cabinet meeting in Delhi late on Thursday, presided over by Manmohan Singh.

The Maharashtra government is headed by the same Congress party that leads the ruling coalition at the centre.

"The cabinet expressed its serious concern (over the violence in Mumbai) and expressed its sympathy with the families of those who have lost their lives," Chidambaram said.

"The home minister was asked to take the necessary steps (to restore normalcy)," the finance minister added.

A youth from Bihar was killed nearly a fortnight ago when activists of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) disrupted a railway recruitment examination in Mumbai.

Earlier this week, MNS activists lynched a labourer from Uttar Pradesh on a commuter train.

Asked whether the government was contemplating a ban on the MNS, Chidambaram replied: "The decision, if and when taken, will be conveyed by the home ministry."