Blackmail, is all.

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Published on August 28 2008 , Page 1

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Playing the Marathi card with Mumbai police per- sonnel, Maharashtra Navnir- man Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray has tried to soften the police’s imminent physical confrontation with MNS activ- ists as the party’s deadline to instal Marathi signboards for shops expires on August 28 with shopkeepers making no move in this direction. In a letter dated August 27, Raj appealed to Marathi police personnel: “The law and order of the city depends on you. The ?ght that my party is ?ghting against the trampling of Marathi language and culture in the state is a ?ght that will bene?t even you and your families.” He added, “Despite the state and the civic chief in Mumbai announcing that shops not putting up Marathi signboards would face action, these shop- keepers are resisting the law of the city. They call this move an unjust one.” Police were deployed on Wednesday in Dadar and Thane after a few alleged MNS workers attacked an upmarket store on Tuesday. The MNS chief said, “My party’s educated youth work- ers are taking to the streets to preserve Marathi pride. The next time you pick up a lathi to hit them or lock them up prior to a beating, ask yourselves if what these children are doing is morally wrong.”

Raj pulls emotional strings Article Rank

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