Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday declared that he was not afraid of fighting for the sons-of-the-soil issue and was ready to do anything for the Marathi manoos.Thackeray also appealed them not to allow migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to settle down in Amravati as it is not in larger interest of the state."People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are trying to settle in all parts of Maharashtra. It is dangerous," he said.
"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.
'BJP is cutting him down to size as he is trying to emerge a Hindutva national hero.'
Addressing a public rally in Aurangabad late in the evening, in which he was termed as 'Hindu Jananayak', the MNS chief said if Uttar Pradesh government could remove the loudspeakers, what was stopping the Maharashtra government, led by his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray, from doing so.
Maharashtra NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of following the use-and-throw policy and added that Raj Thackeray "will have to pay for his own karma".
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
Thackeray's tweet came amid reports that he is unwell.
Following the direction of the Uttar Pradesh government, nearly 11,000 loudspeakers have been removed from religious places till Wednesday evening.
Pakistanis eat from India and then backstab us, said the controversial MLA from UP.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party was told that the MNS and the NCP are not politically untouchables for the BJP
'Raj Thackeray's political outfit will soon fold up in Maharashtra.'
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Delhi high court has quashed the summons issued to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray by a court in Bokaro in an alleged hate speech case, observing that faith and religion are more resilient and cannot be hurt or provoked by the views of an individual.
Launching a scathing attack just as electioneering ends, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Narendra Modi of being double-faced, saying that on the one hand, he talks of Uttar Pradesh's development and then on the other, has joined hands with those who humiliate people from the state.
Thackeray said he has to undergo a surgery on June 1 and after recovering from it, he would again address a public meeting.
Hitting back at Patole, senior NCP leader Pawar wondered whether the Bharatiya Janata Party, too, should accuse the former of backstabbing it as he had quit the saffron party to join the Congress in 2018.
Speaking at a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Saturday, Raj Thackeray had criticised Sharad Pawar, accusing him of 'playing the caste card from time to time and dividing society'.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Hitting back at Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh, who recently snubbed him for extending an "unsolicited support" to Narendra Modi and "seeking votes" in his name without joining the Shiv-Sena-BJP-RPI alliance, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday taunted Singh for raising the objection, while Modi was silent on the issue.
'Getting Brijbhushan to rake up Thackeray's anti-north Indian stand is the BJP's way of cutting Raj Thackeray to size.' 'Could just one MP have stopped Raj Thackeray's Ayodhya tour?'
'Raj Thackeray is not coming to Ayodhya to seek Ram's blessings.' 'He is coming to seek political gain in the name of Ram.'
"I am not talking about reorganisation of just Maharashtra but of all the states of the Indian Union based on the basis of population."
The Patel quota agitation leader formed the Patel Navnirman Sena bringing together the Patels, Kurmis and Gujjars.
Ameya Khopkar, MNS chief Raj Thackeray's close friend, defending his stance, says, "When our soldiers are being killed on the borders by Pakistan, why should we host their actors here?"
State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhya termed it as "vendetta politics", while former chief minister Fadnavis said this would not impact his plans to travel and meet people.
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday attacked the coalition partner on issues like Pakistan, beef, Ram temple and inflation but ruled out walking out of the Maharashtra government any time soon.
What some of our leaders were up to on Monday and Tuesday.
The MNS chief demanded that videos of such people being thrashed be made viral on social media, to instill sense of "trust" among people.
'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
After it failed the crucial May 2014 'exams' without even getting 'passing marks', its that time again for the Congress as elections for the two state assemblies of Maharashtra and Haryana taking place on October 15. Renu Mittal reports
'If they call themselves a Hindutva party, then they must sever the alliance with the PDP in Kashmir.'
'Mobs are entering north Indian homes and threatening families to leave Gujarat or face consequences.'
Pawar pressed for forging alliances of anti-BJP parties at state level and favoured picking up the prime ministerial candidate after the election results, as happened after the 1977 and 2004 general polls.
The Shiv Sena has spurned Congress' request to participate in the bandh.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
As fuel prices continue its northward march with petrol and diesel being sold at Rs 80.73 and Rs 72.83 per litre in the national capital, at least 21 opposition parties, led by the Congress have staged a Bharat Bandh protesting the rise in fuel prices and depreciation of the rupee.
As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
The silence is specially deafening from three parties that symbolised hope for Muslims: The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party. 'What fear prevents these leaders from at least talking about the way our community is being targeted?' 'Will they really lose Hindu votes if they do so?'
Modi and his corporate sector supporters have identified Maharashtra as a key state where the BJP-Shiv Sena can pick up more seats. In fact, it is estimated that if the Thackeray cousins join hands, the NDA partners can improve their tally from the present 23 seats by adding another eight to 10 Lok Sabha seats, reports Anita Katyal.
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