The Maharashtra government on Monday said that it is mulling the option of attaching MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s property to recover the cost of damage caused by party activists when they vandalize toll booths across the state.
Home Minister RR Patil said the government may recover the cost by attaching properties owned by Raj.
The MNS has been at loggerheads with the state government over the collection of toll tax across highways in the state.
MNS workers had gone on the rampage, vandalising toll plazas in different parts of the state following party chief’s diktat not to pay the levy and “thrash” those who raise a voice against it.
Raj Thackeray topped up with a direct threat. He warned of “wreaking havoc” at houses of toll contractors who use force to collect the levy.
“I appeal to people of Maharashtra not to pay toll till the state government implements changes in the toll policy,” Raj told after meeting Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on the issue.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi alleged that MNS’s agitation against the road toll was stage-managed by both Raj Thackeray and the state government.
“Shiv Sena first raised the toll issue in Kolhapur. To nullify Sena’s agitation, Congress used Raj Thackeray. Congress does not want to win election on the strength of the work it has done. It wants to win by making false assurances to the minorities and fooling them,” the SP leader said in a press release.
