Mumbai live: Raj slams Patil for Aug 11 violence

CNN-IBN | 19 Jun 2013 07:36 pm

Mumbai: 4.30 pm: Mumbai Police constable Pramod Tawde goes on to the state and gives Raj Thackeray a flower.

4.20 pm: Raj Thackeray blames Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil and Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik for Azad Maidan violence on August 11.

4.05 pm: Raj Thackeray demands that state Home Minister RR Patil and Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik resign. He says that the Mumbai Police was aware of the Azad Maidan violence but did not take necessary action to stop it.

4.00 pm: Raj Thackeray address MNS rally.

3.50 pm: Raj Thackeray arrives at Azad Maidan, the venue for the protest rally. Huge crowds are present at the venue.

3.42 pm: Pritish Nandy tweets in Raj Thackeray's support. He says, "I like the way Raj Thackeray has seized the initiative. Someone had to do so. These anti-socials are getting away with too much."

2.58 pm: Huge crowd presence at MNS rally.

2.10 pm: Raj Thackeray arrives at Girgaum Chowpatty.

1.30 pm: Raj Thackeray leads the rally to Azad Maidan.

1:10 PM: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray leaves his residence for Azad Maidan. A large number of MNS workers have gathered at Azad Maidan.

Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will take out a march to Azad Maidan from Girgaum Chowpatty on Tuesday afternoon to protest against the violence at Azad Maidan on August 11 in which two people were killed and over 50 injured. The MNS is demanding the resignations of Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil and Mumbai Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik for "failing to maintain law and order".

The police have granted permission for a public rally but not for the march from Girgaum to Azad Maidan, a distance of about five km. There is a massive police presence along the route and at Azad Maidan, the venue of the rally.

Senior police officers said proper crowd management mechanism would be in place and citizens should not have any apprehensions. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vivek Phansalkar said traffic regulation would be activated on the Girgaum-Azad Maidan route in South Mumbai.

The MNS has asked its district units to send at least 1000 persons each for the rally and a large crowd is anticipated. The party is seeking to upstage the Shiv Sena by holding the public rally and the protest march.

Shiv Sen's Executive President Uddahav Thackeray had held a march to the Amar Jawan Jyoti which rioters attempted to desecrate and had threatened that the Sena would take to the streets if the rioters are not brought to book.

Raj Thackeray said his party would go ahead with the protest march though the police had denied permission for the same. He said the police had denied the permission on grounds that the morcha would lead to traffic congestion and create law and order problem.

The march has been organised to denounce the rioting at Azad Maidan, where two persons were killed and 52 others, including 44 policemen and media persons, injured when a protest over Assam clashes turned violent.

(With additional information from PTI)

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