Hundreds of people joined a morcha organised by the MNS and some social groups on Tuesday to defend the Marathi 'asmita' (pride) in Mira Bhayandar area of Thane district amid rising political heat following the attack on a shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi.
Leaders and workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) also joined the protest amid high drama on the streets and detention of several activists by police. Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik who visited the protest site in the afternoon was heckled and driven away by angry demonstrators. Police had denied permission for the protest march citing the potential threat to law and order.
However, after high drama on the streets and apparent political intervention, the morcha passed through the original route proposed by the organisers. The rally was organised by MNS and other pro-Marathi groups the aegis of Marathi Ekikaran Samiti to counter a protest staged by traders recently against the slapping of a food stall owner by MNS activists for not speaking Marathi, officials said.
The situation became tense when police started detaining protesters raising slogans for protecting the 'Marathi asmita' (pride). Some of them were picked up by the police while they were addressing the media. Several functionaries of MNS were detained from midnight.
Television channels flashed images of women being bundled into police vans while they were shouting slogans against the "high-handedness" of the police. Several activists were detained inside a banquet hall to prevent them from reaching the protest venue. As high drama unfolded on the streets, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis moved in to contain the potential political damage. He said permission had been granted for the rally but the MNS insisted on a specific route which posed law and order challenges.
"If they ask for permission for a proper route, we will give permission today and even tomorrow. Another organisation held a rally on the route approved by the police, but these people remained adamant on a particular route," he told reporters in Mumbai.
The groundswell of support for the Marathi cause prompted Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik to criticise the police for "uncalled action" which is not in line with any government directive. "The police's action was completely wrong. The government has not issued any such instructions to suppress a peaceful morcha in support of Marathi interests," Sarnaik told reporters and asserted that he would discuss the matter with the chief minister. -- PTI
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