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MNS Workers Detained in Thane as Alliance Splits Over Protest Route

Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik denounced police detentions of MNS protesters, deepening fissures in the ruling coalition.

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MNS Thane chief Avinash Jadhav was detained at 3.30am. (HT PHOTO)
File photo of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and MNS chief Raj Thackeray at a joint rally, Awaj Marathicha, in Mumbai | PTI

Overview

  • On July 8, police detained dozens of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers in Thane’s Mira Road area after the group refused to follow a police-mandated protest route.
  • Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the march was permitted but had to be rerouted for crowd control and traffic safety, and permission was revoked only when organisers insisted on the original path.
  • Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik condemned the detentions as biased, pledged to press the chief minister on the matter and exposed deep divisions within the Mahayuti alliance.
  • Raj Thackeray’s MNS and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) have staged joint street protests to assert Marathi identity and mobilize voters ahead of the Brihanmumbai municipal elections.
  • BJP MP Nishikant Dubey warned that Marathis attacking Hindi speakers would face reprisals if they entered Hindi-speaking states, escalating the linguistic standoff.