Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said permission had been granted for a rally in neighbouring Mira Bhayander in which MNS leaders had planned to participate but the party insisted on a specific route which posed law and order challenges.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande, however, claimed the government was trying to suppress their voice and that the police had no intention of allowing their rally.
Police detained MNS Thane and Palghar head Avinash Jadhav and several other party activists ahead of the rally planned in Thane’s Mira Bhayander area on Tuesday to counter a protest staged
earlier by traders against the slapping of a food stall owner for not speaking in Marathi, officials said.
The protesters shouted slogans against the government, criticising it for not allowing the morcha.
The rally was proposed by the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti in Mira Bhayander area.
Members of the Raj Thackeray-headed MNS have been trying to push for the use of the Marathi language in commercial establishments and banks in the state.
Speaking to reporters in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan premises on the issue, Fadnavis said, “There is no opposition to holding a rally. It was difficult to give permission for the sought route. Police requested them to change the route, but the organisers were adamant on a particular route.”
“It could cause traffic or a stampede-like situation. In such a situation, police try to convince and offer an alternate route. We are in a democracy, everyone has the right to hold rallies,” he said.
“If they ask for permission for a proper route, we will give permission today and even tomorrow also. Another organisation held a rally from the route approved by the police, but these people remained adamant on a particular route,” he added.