#WATCH | Thane | Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers in large numbers gather at Mira Bhayander for a protest over language row pic.twitter.com/D5OYZ28uQr
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2025
MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande claimed the government was trying to suppress their voice and that the police had no intention of allowing their rally.
State Minister Pratap Sarnaik attempted to join the MNS protest but party workers heckle him away.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said permission was granted for a rally in Mira Bhayander in which MNS leaders had planned to participate but the party insisted on a specific route which posed law and order challenges.
Earlier in the day, police detained MNS Thane and Palghar head Avinash Jadhav and several other party activists ahead of the rally planned in Mira Bhayander area. The MNS is protesting to counter a protest staged earlier by traders against the slapping of a food stall owner for not speaking in Marathi.
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.
Fadnavis told reporters, “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.”
Deshpande said the MNS was asked by police to shift the rally venue to Ghodbunder Road while the incident happened in in Mira Road area last week. “Who holds a protest on Ghodbunder Road for something that happened in Mira Road? It clearly shows that the police had no intention of allowing our rally in the first place,” he claimed.
