Mumbai, April 5: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday asked the party members to stop agitation for now after it started aggressively pushing the Marathi identity agenda ahead of civic polls in the state, including in banks and other big corporations like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur.

His letter to party members comes a day after the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned attempts by some people to take the law into their own hands while demanding the use of Marathi will not be tolerated.

“I congratulate you for once again raising your voice strongly for the issue of Marathi in Maharashtra. I had asked you at the Gudi Padwa rally to see whether transactions are being done in Marathi in banks in Maharashtra, and if not, inform the administration of that bank about it. From the next day, you went to banks everywhere in Maharashtra and insisted on Marathi there, which was great; this not only sent the message that no one can take Marathi language and Marathi people for granted, but also showed the organisational strength of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which is present everywhere,” said the MNS chief.

He, however, put the ball in the state government’s court, saying that the government should make the banks and other establishments respect Marathi.

“The government has a major responsibility. They know the rules of the Reserve Bank, and it is now the government’s responsibility to implement those rules. The Chief Minister said that we will not let anyone take the law into their own hands. We do not want that either, but if you are the protector of the law, then isn’t it your job to implement the rules of the Reserve Bank? You should make banks and other establishments respect Marathi, then we will definitely not take the law into our own hands,” he said.

He further asked his worker: “Stop the agitation now, because we have created enough awareness on these issues and have shown a glimpse of what can happen if this does not happen. Now the Marathi people themselves should insist. If our Marathi people have backtracked on the issue of use of Marathi language in Maharashtra, then why should we do these agitations?”

Raj Thackeray’s call to his party members to stop the agitation also comes after various banking experts and unions had taken strong objection.

Pune, April 5: Maharashtra BJP president and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule here on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of betraying the ideals and vision of his father, Balasaheb Thackeray, by opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Bawankule claimed that Thackeray’s stance was driven by vote-bank politics ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

“Uddhav Thackeray’s position on the Waqf Amendment Bill is not even acceptable to his own workers. I’ve received messages from across the state suggesting that many Shiv Sainiks are disillusioned and considering quitting the party. His Shiv Sena won’t survive another year,” Bawankule asserted.

He further alleged, “By opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, Uddhav Thackeray has committed a serious offence.”

On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the Bill, stating that it reflects the secular and democratic spirit enshrined in the Constitution.

“The Waqf Board that existed till now was a product of appeasement politics. It neither benefited the minority community nor contributed to any charitable cause. On the contrary, it was used to forcibly grab land. The biggest Waqf land scam in Maharashtra happened during the Congress regime. We had even initiated an inquiry into it,” Fadnavis said.

He added that the amended law would bring much-needed transparency and ensure that the benefits reach the common Muslim.

“The Bill does not infringe upon any religious beliefs. It merely corrects historical wrongs. It also ensures women’s representation on the Waqf Board and removes the earlier provision that barred judicial scrutiny of its actions,” he said.

Fadnavis also alleged that Waqf lands were often taken over by the Board and later by Congress leaders, adding, “The Bill is aimed at ending this loot. Those who truly follow Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals should support it.”

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, accused Thackeray of abandoning Hindutva and compromising Balasaheb’s principles. “His opposition to the Bill exposes his real priorities — power over people’s welfare,” Shinde said.

Mumbai, April 5: Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra has been issued a third summons by Mumbai’s Khar Police, asking him to appear for questioning on Saturday.

This summons follows two previous attempts by the police to call Kamra in for investigation, but the comedian failed to show up for either of the earlier summons.

Kamra is under investigation for an alleged controversial comment that was understood to be an indirect swipe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The video, which aired following Kamra’s performance at the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, saw the comedian using a modified version of a popular Bollywood song from ‘Dil To Pagal Hai.’ “Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” Kunal Kamra said during his show which was understood to be a jibe at Shinde.

The comments, were perceived to be made in the context of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, which led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, resulted in multiple FIRs being filed against Kamra.

Following the release of Kamra’s video on March 23, Shiv Sena workers, angered by his remarks, vandalised the Unicontinental Hotel in Khar where Kamra had recorded the video. This incident led to the arrest of 12 Shinde supporters, who were later granted bail.

In response to the summons, Kamra had earlier stated he was unavailable in Mumbai due to prior commitments and offered to appear for questioning on April 2.

However, the police did not accept his request for a delayed appearance.

Kamra’s lawyer, V. Suresh, had expressed concerns about Kamra’s safety, claiming he had received threats from certain Maharashtra Cabinet ministers.

Mumbai’s Khar Police Station is investigating the matter, with two FIRs already filed against Kamra for derogatory remarks. In addition, three more FIRs filed against him in different parts of Maharashtra have been combined into the Mumbai investigation.

The police have confirmed that Kamra is not currently in contact with the Khar police station. Kamra has been granted protection from arrest until April 7 by the Madras High Court, but the latest summons indicate that the investigation is moving forward despite his earlier refusals to comply.