Raj Halts Sainiks In Their Tracks

Shiv Sena cancels planned rail roko andolan fearing Raj would grab headlines

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) spoilt Shiv Sena's party yet again, though this time it was unplanned.
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After eating into their votes in the Lok Sabha elections, the MNS deprived Shiv Sena from hogging the limelight thanks to the drama surrounding the arrest of its party chief Raj Thackeray yesterday.
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The Shiv Sena had planned a rail roko andolan at Kurla to protest the water shortage in the area.

However, when Raj surrendered before the Kalyan court in connection to a riot case against him for allegedly attacking north Indian students appearing for a railway recruitment exam last year, the Shiv Sena cancelled its protest.

The party felt its protest would go unnoticed since Raj would grab all the headlines.



Flop show?

According to a party source who did not wish to be named, "The protest by the Shiv Sena would have flopped since all the attention was on Raj."

An officer from the Kurla Government Railway Police said in jest, "We are still waiting for the rail roko."
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However, Anuradha Pednekar, Shiv Sena corporator from Nehru Nagar, the area from where residents were going to participate in the protest, said, "I know there was supposed to be a protest, but not in my area.
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There are water problems in my area too, but the protest was supposed to take place in another ward."

Bhau K, vibhag pramukh, Kurla zone, denied commenting on the issue. He said, "I am at Sion Hospital.

I don't know anything about the protest." The MNS chose not to get into a controversy. "It's their internal matter. We don't wish to talk about it," said a party worker.

Zabaan sambhal ke

Raj Thackeray was arrested yesterday when he surrendered before the Kalyan court.
He was remanded to judicial custody till July 13 for attacking north Indian students in 2008, but was later granted bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh. The court has warned Raj from making inflammatory statements.