Raj Thackeray calls off party ‘agitation’

Following an incident of auto rickshaw burning at Andheri on Thursday night, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Friday directed his party workers not to start any agitation against new auto rickshaws as of now. Distancing his party from the Andheri incident, Mr Thackeray said that “some anti-social” elements were taking advantage of his call for burning down new auto rickshaws.

Addressing his party workers on Wednesday on the occasion of his party’s 10th anniversary, Mr Thackeray had asked them to burn any new auto rickshaw of “outsiders” they see on Mumbai roads. He has claimed that 70 per cent of the new 70,000 permits issued by the state government have been given to “outsiders” in Maharashtra.

In a statement issued, MNS leader Shirish Sawant said, “Since new auto rickshaws have not come on roads yet and some anti-social elements are taking undue advantage of the situation, Raj Thackeray has said that until further orders, no action should be taken by party workers. These orders have to be followed strictly.”

Mr Thackeray’s call for burning down auto rickshaws has received negative reactions from all over the country. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has also said that the state government will protect those who have been given permits and said that the permits have been given to applicants only after they fulfilled all the conditions.

Snubbing the MNS leader for his allegation that Bajaj Auto was set to make a huge profit from the sale of auto rickshaws to new permit-holders, the chief minister said his government doesn’t work for a company (Bajaj) but for the common man.

While Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and other parties have reacted sharply against Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena has adopted the policy of not giving much importance to the MNS chief’s statements so that he does not gain any mileage ahead of the BMC elections. When asked about his reaction to the MNS leader’s comments, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who was addressing a Mumbai Fire Brigade function in Vikhroli, said, “We are the ones who douse the fire, not ignite it.”