Defying Maharashtra government's order asking him not to make provocative speeches, Raj, addressing a rally in Thane, spewed venom against North Indians justified his agitation against them who he said encroached on job prospects of locals in Maharashtra. He said it would not be possible for him to abide by the government's gag order and he cannot be a 'mute spectator when interests of Maharashtra are at stake'.
"We have granted conditional permission to hold a meeting. The permission refrains the party from making any provocative statements that harm peace in the city and violate Indian Penal Code," Tukaram Chavan, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Thane, told PTI.
Terming north-Indians as the life-line of Mumbai, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said that anti-people forces like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Shiv Sena were trying to divide the nation."Maharashtra has 57 per cent of north Indians who are toiling for the progress of the state and nation. MNS and Bal Thackeray would face a severe repercussion of their drive, to separate people, on the basis of region or language," said Paswan.
Nitish Kumar requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to deal with such divisive elements with an iron fist. "I expect the Maharashtra government to act tough and protect our students," Nitish Kumar said in Patna on Monday morning.
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
A Delhi court on Thursday issued summons against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for his alleged hate speeches against north Indians and instigating violence against them on various occasions.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi directed that a summons be issued against Raj Thackeray for September 28.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday asked Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to mend ways and desist from the smear campaign against the Nationalist Congress Parry or face a "befitting reply".
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi asked Maharashtra's Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government on what grounds it planned to revoke the suspension of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MLAs who disrupted Azmi's oath taking.
In a blow to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's apparent attempt to score brownie points over its arch rival Shiv Sena, the Bombay high court on Friday refused to grant permission to the Raj Thackeray-led party to hold a public meeting at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai.
According to Raj, north India has always looked down with contempt upon Maharashtra and if the draft notification of CMZ is implemented, development of Maharashtra and Mumbai in particular would be adversely affected.
In a huge embarrassment to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, the United Progressive Alliance has lost the Khadakwasla assembly seat which had witnessed a by-election on October 13.
The Samajawadi Party will honour its Maharashtra unit president and newly elected legislator Abu Asim Azmi for taking oath in national language despite being assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena legislators inside the Maharashtra Assembly.
Accusing the chief minister of watering down the Cabinet decision taken on Wednesday to make local language clause mandatory for 4000 new taxi permits to be issued by the state, Thackaray said: "More than the welfare of the people Congress CMs are more concerned about what 'Madam' (Sonia Gandhi) would think. Our CM should do a part time job with CMs from southern states to practise how to know to remain steadfast in their decisions.'
A Mumbai court on Wednesday cancelled the warrant issued against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray after he appeared in a case registered against him for violence during Railway Recruitment Board examinations at a college in suburban Bandra in October 2008.
In the backdrop of Wednesday's serial blasts, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday blamed "hordes of migrants" coming to Mumbai for spurt in crime rate in the state.
Did the Congress win based on performance or due to factors like Raj Thackeray?
"We are not against the common man or the migrant workers from UP and Bihar. If somebody changes according to the house of the host (Maharashtra), he is welcome, but if somebody wants to change the host's home by dadagiri (force), we will never tolerate it," Raj asserted.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday defended actor Salman Khan, who came under fire for claiming that the 26/11 attacks were hyped because the 'elite' were targeted by the terrorists.
After emerging as the single largest party but failing to secure a simple majority in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation elections, Shiv Sena on Monday started negotiations with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a party source said in Mumbai.
MNS president Raj Thackeray is all praise for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and does not mince words to express it.
The booing and beating Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Legislators in Mumbai has brought rich dividends for Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi , who has been turned into the party's hero.
As the battle for Dalit votes ahead of the civic elections in Maharashtra got interesting amid reports that the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party is mulling a resolution on renaming Dadar railway station in Mumbai as 'Chaityabhoomi' station, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray said he was opposed to any such move.
A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking registration of an FIR against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for assaulting Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in the Maharashtra Assembly for taking oath in Hindi instead of Marathi.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena would not participate in Thane bandh on Thursday, called to protest the civic administration's demolition drive against illegal and dilapidated structures, party chief Raj Thackeray said on Wednesday.
Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday ruled out seeking support from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray to form government in Maharashtra.
Within a gap of seven hours, two high-profile but diametrically opposite campaigns in this city set the tone for the coming Maharashtra Assembly elections. While Congress President Sonia Gandhi pitched for an inclusive growth with greater emphasis on poorer and backward section, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's high-decibel slogans catered only for the 'Marathi issue'.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena General Secretary Satish Pradhan resigned from the post on Saturday giving a blow to the Raj Thakre-led party just before the assembly election.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray today criticised Asaram Bapu for allegedly wasting water at a pre-Holi celebration event even as the state has been reeling under worst drought.
After hijacking the Shiv Sena's Marathi agenda, MNS wants to sustain the campaign by offering free Marathi classes to the non-Marathis in the city. "Marathi is the official language of the state and non-Maharashtrians should at least know how to communicate in Marathi," MNS district president (South Mumbai) Arvind Gavade told PTI. The MNS is planning to start the classes from March. There will be three lectures per week and the number of lectures can be increased.
Lalu, who was in Ranchi to address the 'Chetna' rally organised by his party -- the Rashtriya Janata Dal -- made the comment when he was asked by newspersons about the alleged anti-north India statements by leaders of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
The octogenarian leader said he agreed with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that these tactics to gain free publicity should be ignored. Without naming Raj, Thackeray said 'chicken in state politics are suffering from bird flu of depression', and hence they have no value.
Bowing down to pressure, Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday apologised for her remark about speaking in Hindi, which had invited the wrath of both the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. "I am very sorry if I have hurt the sentiments of Marathi speaking people in Mumbai and Maharashtra," Jaya said in an interview to Mumbai Mirror.
Tension brewed in parts of Mumbai and adjoining Thane districts on Wednesday following Tuesday's incident of stone pelting on Raj Thackeray's convoy by alleged Nationalist Congress Party workers in Ahmednagar district, with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters attacking NCP office in Ambernath and calling a bandh.
The attack on North Indians in Maharashtra generated major uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday, with demands that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray be detained under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and that he be disenfranchised. Members from Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party, most of them belonging to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, expressed grave concern over the attack on North Indians in Maharashtra.
Thackeray said that though Bachchan has become a superstar in Mumbai, his heart is more inclined towards Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra.
Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers on Monday went on the rampage, vandalising toll plazas in different parts of the state following their leader's diktat not to pay the levy and "thrash" those who raise a voice against it.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena corporator Nitin Nikam was on Monday arrested for assaulting a 65-year-old private contractor over alleged 'delay' in repairing a damaged water pipeline in Kalyan, police said.
A Maharashtra Navnirman Sena corporator repeatedly slapped a 65-year-old private contractor over the alleged 'delay' in repairing a damaged water pipeline.
Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena looks all set to get its candidate elected as Mayor of Nashik with likely support from Bharatiya Janata Party.
Commuters had a hard time getting to their offices in Mumbai due to the strike by the Sharad Rao-led Mumbai Autorickshawmen's Union, seeking a hike in minimum fares.
