Raj Thackeray slams state govt over Mumbai riots

Raj Thackeray slams state govt over Mumbai riots :-

MUMBAI -- Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday slammed the state government for the riots in south Mumbai on August 11 and called for the ouster of Home Minister R R Patil and the city--s police chief.

Addressing a huge rally at Azad Maidan, the MNS chief lambasted Patil and Arup Patnaik, Mumbai's police commissioner, for failing to prevent attacks on police personnel and for disregarding the alleged massive influx of illegal migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh into the metropolis.

Traffic in south Mumbai was thrown out of gear from Tuesday afternoon, as thousands of MNS workers gathered at Girgaum chowpatty, from where they marched about five km to Azad maidan. Thaough the authorities had given permission to Thackeray to address rally at the sprawling ground opposite CST station, they had refused him permission to organise a protest march from Chowpatty to the Maidan.

But defying the police, Thackeray led the march to Azad maidan for a while. The police, however, did not prevent him or the thousands of workers from doing so. The MNS leader, who has in the past targeted migrants to Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, this time focused on Patil and Patnaik. He said the two had not only ignored intelligence tip-offs about violence during the August 11 rally -- organised by Raza Academy to protest the attacks on Muslims in Assam and Mynamar -- but were even not taking action against the perpetrators of the violence.

Two persons were killed and over 50 injured and scores of vehicles -- including police vehicles, OB vans and BEST buses -- destroyed as hooligans went on a rampage. The police have said that the organisers had nothing to do with the violence, which was instigated by unidentified elements, who were distributing doctored images of the violence in Assam.

Several other political parties have been demanding the ouster of the ineffective home minister and the police chief, who have been focusing on moral policing, instead of curbing crime, terrorist attacks and violence.

Thackeray lashed out at Patnaik for publicly humiliating a deputy commissioner of police and ordering him to release one of the persons caught indulging in violence. He also ridiculed Vasant Dhoble, the hockey-stick-wielding assistant commissioner of police, who has been raiding discotheques and eateries in Mumbai and attacking ordinary people present there. Dhoble has the backing of Patnaik and Patil. "If either of them (Patil and Patnaik) had even an ounce of shame, they would have quit by now," said Thackeray. Interestingly, towards the end of Thackeray's speech, a police constable walked up to him and offered a flower.

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