Thane demolition drive: MNS not to participate in bandh

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.

"The MNS won't participate in bandh," Raj told reporters. As many as 74 people died as an illegal building near Mumbra collapsed earlier this month, which led to crack-down on illegal structures. But various political parties are opposed to it.

"Why has no action being taken against those who built illegal buildings?" Raj said. "If MNS corporators are found to have built illegal buildings, then action should be taken against them also."

“There is a ploy to regularise illegal constructions for vote-politics," he said. "I will speak to the chief minister on illegal constructions in Thane," he added.

Chiding the state government for "delayed response" on the sensitive issue of illegal constructions, Thane Members of Legislative Assembly Eknath Shinde, Rajan Vichare and Pratap Sarnaik (all Shiv Sena) and Jitendra Awhad (Nationalist Congress Party) had on Tuesday protested the crack-down on illegal buildings.

"Our demand is to regularise all illegal buildings and rehabilitate those evacuated from their homes. All illegal buildings standing in Thane as of today should be protected, irrespective of the previous cut-off date (for regularisation) of 1995," Awhad had said.

Meanwhile, Thane unit of Bharatiya Janata Party too has said that it would not back the bandh.