MNS to hold rally in Thane to keep city hawker free

THANE: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is scheduled to hold a rally in Thane on Saturday, in the backdrop of the violent drive to clean-up the premises around the station area of illegal hawkers.
The MNS action has had the desired impact on the streets since October 21 and party functionaries seem determined to conduct the same in the vicinity of the Masunda Lake opposite Gadkari Rangayatan around 7:30pm despite formal permissions yet to arrive.
Party workers said the rally would be held on the streets and they will be blocking one side of the nearly 700m stretch that can easily accommodate nearly 50,000 audience.
Thackeray is likely to lash out at the government for its inability to find a solution to the menace and also spell out his plans for ensuring metros like Thane remain free from the illegal hawker menace.
The party has been aggressively reaching out to residents and spreading word about the meeting and claims it will continue with its plans irrespective of whether they get permission or not. “Residents are happy with the station area being freed of hawkers. The TMC was a mute spectator for long time and they took action only after the MNS drive,” said Avinash Jadhav, MNS city president.