Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Visits MNS Chief Raj Thackeray After Mumbai Beautification Criticism

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paid a courtesy visit to MNS chief Raj Thackeray, days after the latter criticised the state government for spending Rs 1,700 crore to beautify Mumbai in a rally.

During the rally last week, Raj Thackeray blamed his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray for the split in the Shiv Sena.

Raj spoke out for the first time on the issue and pointed fingers at Uddhav for the departure of several leaders, including Chief Minister Shinde and 39 MLAs.

Shinde and other Sena leaders left the party after Uddhav teamed up with the Congress and NCP, ditching its long-term ally BJP in the state.

On Thursday (23 March), BMC demolished a dargah in Mumbai's Mahim coastal area on Thursday, following allegations from Raj Thackeray that it was built on encroached land.

Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar has said that the state government is following the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray.

Kesarkar said that Balasaheb Thackeray used to raise these issues and now Raj Thackeray raised them.

"Due to Raj Thackeray, it came to our notice that the violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act is going on, so we took action so that no one in future repeats these actions," he said.

Raj Thackeray had recently said that he will renew his campaign to pull down loudspeakers from mosques if the state government does not take any action in the matter. He further called withdrawal of around 17,000 cases filed against his party workers last year when they launched protests seeking removal of loudspeakers from mosques.