MNS chief Raj Thackeray gets bail

Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray got temporary respite from the court in Kalyan when he received interim anticipatory bail from the court as Government Railway Police (GRP) sought his custody after he was granted bail by the court in two offences registered at Manpada police station in Kalyan.
 
Meanwhile the Maharashtra cabinet cleared the ordinance to amend the Mumbai Police Act (MPA). The amended MPA not only allows police authorities to initiate proceedings to recover damages to public and private property from rioters but also from organisations and its leadership.


However two former Shiv Sena leaders, revenue minister Narayan Rane and public works minister Chagan Bhujbal and water resource minister Ajit Pawar strongly objected to drafting and clearing such an ordinance in haste, without thinking through its consequences and clearly defining "leadership" in a political party.
 
Due to violent incidences in Kalyan and Dombivali area, police authorities had clamped curfew in the area, which was relaxed for a few hours in the morning.  However it was imposed once again after 11 am when Thackeray was to be produced in court. The police didn't want MNS activists to gather in Kalyan during court hearing and create a law and order situation.
 
Accepting the argument of Thackeray's lawyers that he himself was not involved in vandalism; the court released him on a personal surety of Rs  15,000. However, as part of a well-thought out strategy by the state government, GRP requested the court to give custody of Thackeray to them for offences registered against him. 
 
However Thackeray's lawyers moved an application for anticipatory bail. Accepting their arguments the court granted Thackeray interim anticipatory bail till October 24 and asked GRP to file its arguments in writing before the court.
 
Speaking to media persons, a minister who had opposed the ordinance proposal in cabinet said, "Though we are in power in state, we are not in power in many municipal corporations or zilla parishads and if activists belonging to our parties indulged in some violent agitation against functioning of these local self government bodies then, will Sonia Gandhi or Sharad Pawar - as party presidents - be held responsible?"
 
He criticised chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and deputy chief minister and home minister R R Patil for bulldozing the ordinance through Cabinet.
 
"They (Deshmukh and Patil) are behaving like we are going to be in power for an eternity. Tomorrow, if we are in opposition, then the ruling party will lose no opportunity to harass our leadership using this 'innovative' ordinance which we have passed today," he remarked sarcastically.