Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers pulled down signboards written in Gujarati from some commercial establishments in Mumbai and adjoining Vasai, hours after party chief Raj Thackeray called for a "Modi-Mukt Bharat" at a rally here yesterday.
After the rally, the MNS workers, carrying party flags, ransacked a few roadside eateries near Vasai, on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, last night and destroyed their signboards written in Gujarati.
Today, some shops in Mumbai that had Gujarati signboards faced the wrath of the MNS workers. These included a sweet shop in the north Mumbai suburb of Kandivli, police said.
This is not the first time that the MNS has attacked properties owned by Gujaratis in Maharashtra. In July 2017, the party had launched violent protests against a jewellery shop and a hotel in Mumbai, forcing them to pull down their signboards written in Gujarati.
After the Vasai incident, MNS Thane region president Avinash Jadhav said, "Vasai is in Maharashtra and not in Gujarat. We will not tolerate signboards in Gujarati."
Addressing the party workers at a rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai last night, Thackeray had said, "The country is fed up with the false promises made by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and his government."
"All the opposition parties should come together to get rid of the BJP-led NDA government to ensure a Modi-mukt Bharat," he had said, while reminding the audience of the BJP's "Congress-mukt Bharat" slogan.
Describing the vandalism by MNS workers as a nuisance tactic, a political analyst said, "Raj Thackeray is doing what he is best known for. He should understand that the times have changed and the people are interested in constructive policies."
The MNS chief has been critical of Modi as according to him, the latter wants to shift all the major establishments from Maharashtra to Gujarat.
In 2008, the MNS had started a campaign to ensure that signboards across Mumbai were in Marathi.
In 2016, during Paryushan, the fasting period of the Jain community, the MNS had opposed the closure of meat shops and opened them forcibly.
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