Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday claimed that the firm which is constructing the Versova-Bandra Sea Link here has arranged walk-in interviews for jobs in the project in Chennai. Seeking to raise a `sons-of-the-soil' issue, he also asked if this was happening with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's consent.

The Sea Link bridge connecting Bandra and Versova in the western suburbs is a project of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation which comes under the Chief Minister's purview, Aaditya, a former minister, said at a press conference.

Without naming the construction firm, he alleged that it invited candidates with engineering background for walk-in interviews for the project at Ramada Plaza in Chennai. "Why weren't walk-in interviews arranged in any city in Maharashtra?” he asked.

Thackeray also alleged that attempts were being made to isolate Maharashtra economically.?Opposition parties in the state including the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya's father, had last week sought to corner the Shinde government after Vedanta-Foxconn chose Gujarat over Maharashtra to set up their multi-billion semiconductor project.

Notably, the Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray in the 1960s, had taken up the issue of jobs for sons of the soil in a big way during its early years before it espoused Hindutva politics. ?

(With PTI inputs)