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On Sunday, MNS chief Raj Thackeray asked his followers to ensure no levy was charged at any toll booth in Maharashtra, by thrashing anyone who asked for it tax. Booths were vandalised in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kalyan, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Nashik.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has asked the state police to take stern action against anyone doing this. The police have acted swiftly and registered 11 cases and so far arrested 71 MNS workers across the state. Extra security has been provided to toll plazas.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also warned of strong action against MNS workers for vandalising toll booths across the state. “The vandalism will not be tolerated. We will take action,” he said.
The MNS has been campaigning against toll collection, with the party alleging mismanagement of funds by the state government and lack of accountability. It says citizens are being overcharged by the contractors in question. In 2012, too, MNS workers had attacked toll booths.
The party has already approached the high court here and its petition is still pending.
Thackeray’s diktat of Sunday night is seen as a new attempt to gain political mileage over the rival Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena and its Bharatiya Janata Party ally had recently damaged toll booths in western Maharashtra, raising similar issues.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, also the finance minister, has said toll collection cannot be simply stopped; the government, for one, needs the money. He noted this mode of collection was launched during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government of 1995-1999 and said it was necessary for financing the construction of roads and bridges.
