No outsiders, MNS tells State Bank

Party demands that the banku00a0 hire only domicile students at exam held today

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is at it again. In a veiled threat, the party has demanded that the State Bank of India (SBI) hire only domicile candidates in the examination to be held today. The party leaders submitted a written request to the SBI over the filling of vacancies for assistant clerical staff in the bank, for which examinations will be held at 18 centres across Maharashtra.

A delegation of MNS leaders, headed by student wing leader Sandeep Deshpande, handed a letter to the bank.

"We have asked the management to take only people who are domicile of the state. They can allow anyone who wants to sit for the exam butu00a0 they should only call people who are from the state during the interview," says Deshpande. Sriram Lele, the General Manager of the bank for recruitment and promotion, says, "We can't stop people from other states from appearing the exams, as we fall under the Central Government. But yes, the one who gives an exam and gets selected can't be transferred from the state for the next 10 years."

There are 1,100 posts to be filled in the state and nearly 2.5 lakh applicants will appear for the exam. The bank management has already asked for security to prevent any problems during the examination.u00a0 The centres are at Dadar, Vile Parle, Goregaon and other locations.

However, this time the MNS is taking a less aggressive stance. Deshpande claims that they have assured the management that they won't create any trouble if they take only domicile students. "I can't confirm whether we will take to the streets or not," he says.

Exam bash-ups
In October 2008, alleged MNS supporters had bashed up north Indiansu00a0 appearing for the railway exam at Kalyan. As a result, MNS chief Raj Thackeray was arrested and produced at the Kalyan court. Alleged MNS groups also attacked the exam centre at Chetana College in Bandra, last year.