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 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.
The Congress-Nationalist Conference Party on Wednesday hit out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray over the latter's controversial speech at Kolhapur, saying he provides "free entertainment" and should consider taking up mimicry. Reacting to Raj's statement on Tuesday night that people should "cut off the hands" of migrants from other states if they indulge in crime in Maharashtra, NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said Raj was misleading the youth.
Raj Thackeray's decision to support Modi as PM did not appeal voters. Sanjay Jog reports from Mumbai.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Raj Thackeray's latest political ploy and wonders if this Thackeray versus Thackeray skit will help the BJP finally achieve its goal of ejecting the Maha Vikas Aghadi government from a state that has largely been insulated from the communal disharmony sweeping across parts of north India.
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.
Mohan Rawale, a five-time former MP from Mumbai south central, was expelled from the Shiv Sena on Monday, days after his meeting with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, in an apparent clamp down on dissidence.
Zenda, an upcoming Marathi movie based on the feud between Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray has been termed as biased by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists for portraying their leader in "bad light".
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.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday received support from unexpected quarters -- Maharashtra's Revenue Minister Narayan Rane who said the MNS leader's stance on Marathi issue was okay but the methods adopted by him weren't.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Wednesday claimed there was a threat to the life of party Member of Legislative Assembly Abu Asim Azmi, who was assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members in the Maharashtra assembly for taking oath in Hindi defying Raj Thackeray's diktat.
The meeting, that took place in the evening, assumes significance as Khan's upcoming film 'Raees', which features Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, is scheduled for a release next month, party sources said.
Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Thursday made its debut in the Maharashtra assembly, bagging two of the 60 seats in the House. The party, which made a deep dent in the Shiv Sena vote bank during the Lok Sabha polls, was leading in 14 other seats in the 288-member House. MNS candidate Mangesh Sangale won from Vikhroli in suburban Mumbai, defeating Nationalist Congress Party rival Pallavi Patil.
The high-pitch campaign ended on Sunday in Maharashtra for the October 13 assembly elections which saw Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena fighting for the same political space and the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party aiming a hat-trick.
On an average, Mumbai airport handles around 30,000 international passengers and about 190 international flight movements.
Observing that politicians like Raj Thackeray do not deserve any importance, the Bombay high court on Monday refused to hear a contempt petition filed against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief while hinting that media make such leaders big by giving them publicity.
Fresh non-bailable warrants were issued on Friday against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray by a Delhi court as he failed to appear before it to respond to two complaints accusing him of making hate speeches against north Indians, particularly Bihar natives, in 2008.
A Delhi court on Thursday asked police to lodge an FIR against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly branding Bihar natives as infiltrators in Mumbai and threatening them to throw out of the state.
The Delhi police on Saturday told a court that it faces several legal hurdles in lodging a First Information Report against Maharahstra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly branding Bihar natives in Mumbai as infiltrators.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday lashed out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for his 'Bihari' bashing and asked the Centre to take strong action against him.
Raj Thackeray's comments threatening to brand Biharis as "infiltrators" have fuelled a controversy with leaders from various political parties slamming the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief over the issue.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Friday threatened to brand Biharis as "infiltrators" and force them out of Maharashtra if authorities in Bihar take legal action against Mumbai policemen who picked up a teenager from there without informing their counterparts in that state.
Raj Thackeray's public meeting earlier this week was clearly in preparation for the 2014 assembly elections. By reiterating that for him Maharashtra was the lone religion, he showed he was toeing neither the Hindutva line, nor the Marathi Manoos for electoral prospects, writes Sanjay Jog.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar by criticising Dalit leaders from the state for their obsession with Indu Mills land to build an Ambedkar memorial, Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale alleged in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The Congress in Maharashtra is making all efforts to woo the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to back United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the presidential poll on Thursday.
Raj Thackeray's political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has attacked Amitabh Bachchan once again. This time, they mocked him through a poster, for going back on his decision to donate his agricultural land to farmers in the Pune district.
Noted Bhojpuri singer and Bollywood actor Manoj Tiwari on Monday said that he would prefer to sacrifice his life to safeguard the interests of Biharis and North Indians living in Mumbai than yielding to pressure of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
Suspected Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists on Monday attacked the office of diversified conglomerate Indiabulls in Camp area of the city, second such incident since party chief Raj Thackeray yesterday accused the company of 'usurping' water meant for farmers for its power plant in the parched district.
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.
Thackeray, in an editorial published in party mouthpiece Saamana, said, "The Karunanidhi government has issued an ordinance making Tamil compulsory in all schools in the state." "Lalu, who has turned Bihar into hell, should hold a mela of Biharis in Tamil Nadu, ruled by his ally at the Centre, to champion the cause of North Indians there."
The Bharatiya Janata Party has opposed the scrapping of regional language paper in the Union Public Service Commission examination and is likely to take up this issue firmly with the Centre shortly.
Unfazed by the protests staged against him today by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists in Pune, scam-tainted Congress leader and local Member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi has expressed his 'resolve' to continue working for the development of the city, while claiming that he was "innocent" in the Commonwealth Games-related graft case.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday softened his stand against the Nationalist Congress Party and also questioned the rationale of playing IPL cricket matches in the state, when it faces a severe drought.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday dared Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar to intimidate his party without the help of the state apparatus, saying stones can come from "our side" too in an escalating war of words between the two leaders from Maharashtra.
Thackeray took the accused to Patil at his Malabar Hill residence because he believes that all of them were innocent and had therefore surrendered, MNS sources said.
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The verbal duel between Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray reached a new crescendo on Thursday, with the Nationalist Congress Party leader challenging the latter to prove allegations of corruption against him.
A court in New Delhi on Monday directed Delhi Police to lodge an FIR against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly branding Muslims from north India as insurgents and threatening them to throw out of the state.
"I have said earlier also, let Balasaheb say anything against me, I will not respond, but let nobody else come between us. The minute anyone else starts to speak, I will not spare them," he said.
