Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has stressed the need for overall change in Maharashtra as since the state's formation development was halted.
As far as calling names goes, campaigning for the October 13 Maharashtra Assembly elections seems to have reached a new low, with key players in state political arena calling rivals names, including those of animals.
The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on Monday stayed the non-bailable arrest warrant issued by a local court against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for four weeks.
A local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar on Wednesday took exception to non-compliance of its October 6 order by Mumbai Police to produce MNS chief Raj Thackeray in the court and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against the Marathi politician for his "hate speeches" against Biharis.
The Mumbai police filed a 73-page charge sheet in a local court against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and 20 others for rioting and assault on North Indians appearing for a Railway recruitment examination in Mumbai in 2008.
In a rebuff to the "Marathi Manoos" plank of Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's MNS, batting maestro and iconic Maharashtrian Sachin Tendulkar today said, "Mumbai is for all Indians."
Tacitly supporting the Maharsahtra Navnirman Sena for its objection to Abu Azmi's oath taking in Hindi, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday attacked the Samajwadi Party Member of Legislative Assembly, saying he himself was responsible for the ruckus in the state assembly on the opening day."Azmi is a rich politician of Mumbai with property worth Rs 200 crore which he has earned in Maharashtra. Why cannot he learn Marathi," the party asked.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday surrendered before a court in Aurangabad in connection with four cases of rioting registered against him in 2008, but was later released on bail. Raj presented himself in the court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, in Gangapur area in Aurangabad in central Maharashtra. The court released him on a bail of Rs 15,000 in all the four cases. He was accompanied by his lawyer Sayaji Nagare.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday surrendered before a local court in Jalgaon in a case of rioting registered against him in 2008 and was later released on bail.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Monday described Marathi as his mother and Hindi as his grandmother, and said he was learning the local language out of respect and not fear. "Marathi is like mother for me, but Hindi is like my grandmother. I am learning Marathi. (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief) Raj Thackeray should not think that I am learning the language out of his fear," he said.
Thackeray's latest statement is expected to spark more controversy as the MNS chief will be on a statewide tour, starting February 13.
A Bihar court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Maharashtra Navnirman chief chief Raj Thackeray for making "hate speeches" against Biharis and asked the Mumbai police commissioner to produce him before it on November 2.
In an attack on the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has alleged that the party was more interested in 'Marathi votes' rather than the 'Marathi manoos'. Addressing an election rally in Pune on Tuesday night, Thackeray said the Shiv Sena had stopped fighting for the rights of Marathi man and it was the MNS which had taken up the cudgels to fight injustice, to which the 'Bhoomiputras' were subjected to.
Bollywood's fortunes might not hinge on Pakistani actors and singers, but the forced ban on them sends out a disturbing message.
Speaking at a book release function on Wednesday in Mumbai, Thackeray said that it was Bhatt who had given false and misleading information to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan that lead to the filing of FIR against his party men. "I will show Mahesh Bhatt who I am the day he comes in my range," said Thackeray.
The rivalry between the two leaders began last year, when Raj launched an anti-north Indian campaign, demanding rights for sons-of-the-soil.
Public prosecutor Ajay Mishar's ride in Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's car has triggered a controversy with lawyers saying such acts raise doubts whether the Maharashtra government is serious in prosecuting Thackeray in the 2008 riot case.
In the overcrowded local trains, auto-rickshaw stands, BEST buses and long queues at the Bandra-Worli sea link toll plaza, the staple language of Mumbai is Hindi, unlike most of the other cities of Maharashtra, where Marathi still dominates the public conversation domain.
Maharashtra will see a total of 588 candidates with a criminal background battling the elections this time. A report prepared by the National Election Watch states that of the 3,559 candidates battling in the elections, 588 have a criminal background.
The war of words between Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Raj Thackeray in poll-bound Maharashtra has intensified with the former saying the MNS chief should act in a movie by Karan Johar and the latter calling the Congress leader "brainless".
Gangster Ashwin Naik today met Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence in suburban Bandra.
Will Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena make its mark in the forthcoming assembly election in the state?
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray on Monday suffered a setback with the Supreme Court clearing the way for his prosecution by the Jharkhand police for allegedly inflammatory speeches targeted at people from Bihar, Jharkhand and north India.
When the two met on Sunday, it was because "Saheb wanted some of his old books," still in Raj's possession, back and Raj offered to carry them to him instead of sending them over.
A third complaint was filed against Maharashtra Navanirman Sena president Raj Thackeray in Jharkhand in connection with the violence by the party's activists on Hindi-speaking candidates of railway recruitment examination in Mumbai.
Uproarious scenes were witnessed in Lok Sabha on Wednesday after members raised the issue of violence in Maharashtra.
The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashra Navnirman Sena deteriorated thanks to its own doing and absolute lack of vision. Now it seems it is only a matter of time before the Shiv Sena goes the same way. Both cousins will ensure they finish the 'Sena', says N Suresh.
Acting on a Jamshedpur court order, the Mumbai police on Monday arrested Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who is accused of hurting religious sentiments and instigating violence.The MNS chief was arrested today morning by the Shivaji Park police and produced before the Dadar court, where he was granted bail of Rs 15,000, Raj's lawyer Shayaji Nangare told PTI.He was later released on bail.
The order came from first class judicial magistrate A K Tiwary when Thackeray failed to appear before the court on Thursday in connection with a petition by lawyer Hameed Raza Khan under sectioins 153 (rioting), 295 (hurting religious sentiments) and other relevant sections of the Indian PenalCode for the MNS leader's remarks against Chhatt festival earlier this year.
After his campaign against North Indians, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Monday asked English medium schools in the state to make Marathi a compulsory subject from first standard and shopowners to put up nameplates in Marathi in a month. The MNS chief also reiterated his appeal to Marathi officials to stop abetting 'outsiders' by issuing bogus domicile certificates and driving licences, saying these acts were rendering the state bankrupt.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday announced formation of two labour unions in the railways and aviation sector.
A local court on Monday has rejected a petition of MNS president Raj Thackeray seeking exemption from personal appearance in connection with the non-bailable arrest warrant it had issued on September 30 this year.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Monday said he would approach the Election Commission seeking derecognition of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the wake of its party chief's remarks and subsequent violence in Mumbai targetting North Indians.
"People of Maharashtra are large-hearted and they have accepted everyone. But some people want to spoil that image," Deshmukh said in an apparent reference to Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which has launched an agitation against north Indian migrants to Mumbai and the state.
Angry mobs organised rallies against Thackeray, burnt his effigies and demanded action against the MNS supremo . Thackeray's statement, comparing the popular Chhath festival to a natak, evoked wide spread protests. Political leaders, cutting across party lines, slammed the comment made by Raj Thackeray. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan criticised Thackeray's statement.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the decision to withdraw from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government will be taken after discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he returns from his US trip.
Ahead of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation polls, BJP is reminding Shiv Sena it is not the sole claimant of intellectual property rights for Marathi Manoos and Hindutva.
A Jamshedpur court on Thursday issued a warrant of arrest against chief of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray for his alleged derogatory remarks on chhat festival, popular among North Indians, "hurting" the religious sentiments.
Jagdish Prasad, father of Pawan Kumar, who was allegedly killed by MNS activists in Mumbai, filed a murder case against Raj Thackeray in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Biharsharief, Nalanda. A court official told rediff.com that Jagdish Prasad has filed a case against Raj Thackeray under 302 of IPC.
Hundreds of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters were expected to gather outside the court to see their leader Raj Thackeray who will appear before it on Wednesday afternoon. The police resorted to cane charge on MNS supporters who were present in large numbers outside the court despite heavy police presence.
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