MUMBAI, 7 February 2008 — In a serious blow to Raj Thackeray, 350 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers, including 50 women, rejoined Shiv Sena yesterday.
The 350 MNS workers led by Avinash Gite, the MNS unit chief of Dindoshi and Goregaon and MNS Women Wing chief Pranali Parab, were welcomed in the party fold by Sena chief Bal Thackeray in the presence of his son, Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena working president.
The MNS workers said they realized the mistake they had made by joining the MNS and requested Bal Thackeray to take them back into the party fold. “Let us not think of the past. We are all like a family and you should start working sincerely for the Shiv Sena,” Thackeray told them.
Speaking to media outside the residence of Thackeray, Gite said the MNS workers were fed up with the dirty politics Raj Thackeray was involved in, especially the attacks on the north Indians. “There is no issue between the Maharashtrians and the north Indians, but what has been happening for the past few days is dirty politics being played by the MNS and the Samajwadi Party,” Gite said.
Taking note of the failure of Maharashtra government to prevent attacks on the north Indians in the state, Federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil yesterday ordered the state government to take immediate steps to control the situation.
Following Patil’s instructions, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh warned of stern action against the trouble-makers. Speaking to reporters after a law and order meeting, Deshmukh said the north Indians in Mumbai and other parts of the state would be given complete protection.
Deshmukh said police had arrested 143 MNS and 90 Samajwadi Party workers in the past four days and 14 cases had been registered against them.
Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Munna Tripathi on Tuesday registered a case against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly attacking north Indians. Two men on a motorcycle also pelted stones at a shoe showroom owned by Samajwadi Party MP Abu Asim Azmi in Bandra. They raised slogans against Azmi and fled. A complaint was lodged at the Bandra police station. But no one was arrested.
In another related development, Home Minister R.R. Patil has ordered the suspension of some policemen who were seen on TV standing around while MNS workers went on the rampage on Sunday.
Poultry From Five States Banned
The Maharashtra government has banned the entry of poultry and poultry products from Orissa, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. The department of Animal husbandry has also sought the state government’s permission to ban poultry products from Andhra Pradesh. An official said truckloads of eggs coming from the five states had been destroyed.
