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 squads, to be called Atma Raksha Dal, would comprise 20 members each and protect interests of the poor people like hawkers and taxi drivers, who are normally target of MNS attacks, MPCC spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam told PTI.
The Mumbai police on Thursday served a notice to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, asking him to observe restraint and not to commit any cognisable offence through his speeches and writings, which can create law and order problems.Raj, however, refused to accept the notice, forcing the police team to paste it outside his Shivaji Park residence in Mumbai."In his political activities, he must not commit any cognisable crime. This is a prevetive notice," said a cop
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray will not participate in the all-party meeting called by the state government to resolve the loudspeaker dispute, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said on Monday.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has rubbished reports that incidents of bottle throwing on his house, during the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena campaign against North Indians, were manipulated."If some feel that this was manipulated they are so wrong. You attribute far too much to my devious acumen. I am afraid I do not possess such attributes." he said. Bachchan said his wife Jaya's recent walk out from Parliament was her right as a Member of Parliament.
"Two women from Uttar Pradesh were raped and no complaint has been lodged so far. Local people know the culprits but they are frightened to name them," Abu Azmi said. Azmi alleged that the Congress, heading the coalition government in Maharashtra, is supporting Raj to secure its vote bank and ignoring his activities.Raj should be charged for murder and robbery as the MNS campaign claimed two lives and many north Indians were looted while fleeing Maharashtra, he said.
Four people were arrested for allegedly damaging five taxis, owned by North Indians, in the early hours of Saturday in Mumbai, police said. Efforts were on to ascertain whether the arrested belonged to Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which had run an anti-north Indian campaign last month, they said.
Fadnavis and his wife Amruta met Raj Thackeray, his wife Sharmila at the latter's new residence 'Shivteerth' at Dadar in central Mumbai. All four were seen chatting in the balcony of the MNS president's house.
The Bombay high court on Friday set aside the stay granted by a sessions court on the extension of the gag order against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray.
Additional Sessions Judge S N Sardesai, however, has said that the court's order will not be applicable until 5 pm on Friday to allow the police to approach the Bombay high court to appeal against the order.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's sons of the soil campaign and the resultant violence have severely affected the real estate industry in Pune. Over 60 per cent construction workers have left the city and this is set to delay the completion of over 55,000 flats in Pune.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray was arrested in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon.
Amid a raging controversy surrounding North Indians in Mumbai, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has suggested that he was jittery to even say he is from Delhi and wanted to do something for his "home town".
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
A handful of MNS activists allegedly beat up the vendors and damaged their hand-carts to protest the likely arrest of their leader and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, police said.
Thackeray did not even spare Hindi and English channels and he barred them from covering his press conference, alleging they were giving a distorted picture about him.
Congress Member of Parliament and spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam and 20 of his supporters were detained on Tuesday, ahead of a protest march planned by them, to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's residence in central Mumbai. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's spokesperson Shishir Shinde was also detained by the police on Tuesday, party sources said. The police, however, refused to confirm the report.
"We have arrested a total of 92 persons till now, including 73 from the MNS and 19 from the SP for indulging in violence, which started on Sunday afternoon," Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) K L Prasad told PTI.
"Our party president Raj Thackeray only meant to say that some people from outside states were trying to provoke the locals and we must be vigilant and alert against such elements. We are not against north Indians at all," party spokesperson Shirish Parkar said on Monday.
'Why should we have to complain about its forced usage or suffocate having someone pushing it down our throats?'
If the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys some influence.
Ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar was seen in a new role when he recited his late father and renowned Marathi poet Ramesh Tendulkar's poem at a function in Mumbai.
Jayant Naiknavare, who took over as the Nashik commissioner of police last week, has cancelled the order given by his predecessor Deepak Pandey over loudspeakers.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday said migrant workers from other states were responsible for the rapid spread of coronavirus in Maharashtra, which has been reporting a large number of new infections since the last few weeks.
Aaditya Thackeray had a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi.
'When one says Shivaji Park, it brings to mind the Shiv Sena led by Balasaheb Thackeray. And that Shiv Sena is now Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena'
From politics to fashion, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance remains intact. Prasanna D Zore reports
"Due to the kind of family environment I have come from, I believe in giving leadership and not in contesting polls. So, it is very much clear that I will not fight any election. But, MNS will definitely contest coming Lok Sabha elections," Raj, who is touring Vidarbha, said at a press conference in Amravati on Monday.
The media breathed life into the MNS which did not take off at a trajectory which would make it an electoral challenge to any political party... It gave him the cause. Strange, but true. And also tragic.
In a video, an MNS worker, holding the party flag, was seen playing the Hanuman Chalisa on a loudspeaker from a high-rise in Mumbai.
"This is a free country and every individual enjoys the liberty of free speech. The law of the land and its Constitution are supreme. Every Indian should be governed by that," the actor said, responding to a query on the impact of the MNS chief's charges against him and his family.
"Those who seek to divide on the basis of religion, on the basis of caste or on the basis of the place one belongs to, I think they do not serve the cause of national unity or national progress," he said without naming anybody or a political party.
"Since Raj is fighting for the Marathi Manoos, we are ready to face any consequence..... but there is tension in the house," Raj's mother-in-law Padma Wagh told PTI. She voiced concern about Raj's son Amit, who is going to appear for his tenth standard examination next month. "I am worried about Amit because of Raj's likely arrest, as he has to appear for SSC exams next month," she said.
The four-day old Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government will face the floor test on July 4 during the special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly beginning on Mumbai Sunday.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties are organising dinner meetings and arranging hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which are taking place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday sought Centre's intervention in unearthing the truth behind the explosives-laden car found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai last month.
Continuing to target former Bharatiya Janata chief Party Nitin Gadkari over his plea to Raj Thackeray not to field candidates in Lok Sabha polls, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday said former is a "businessman, who has inked a deal with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief."
'If the Maha Vikas Aghadi thinks that they have won 30 (Lok Sabha) seats and that would translate to winning 180 assembly seats they would be living in a fool's paradise.'
It will be a political move of the BJP, says the MNS chief.
Even as parties continue to battle it out, here's a list of some interesting candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring. Even as parties continue to battle it out, here's a list of some interesting candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring.