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| Edited By: |Source: |Updated: Jun 04, 2015, 10:07 PM IST
Defiant Raj Thackeray declared that whatever happened, he would take out the protest procession.
Raj Thackeray, along with his son and wife, visited the Siddhivinayak temple, before leaving for Girgaum.
The crowd at Girgaum is spilling on the roads and have blocked traffic on the road.
With traffic on the way, Raj Thackeray is expected to reach Girgaum in about 15 minutes.
15,000 policemen have been deployed at the venue.
The police is unable to handle the massive crowd assembled at Girgaum.
Raj Thackeray has reached Girgaum.
Surrounded by supporters, Raj got of the car and is now heading towards the beach side of Girgaum Chowpatty.
There is a 2-km traffic jam a Marine drive due to this march.
There is a 2-km traffic jam a Marine drive due to this march.
An estimated total of over 50,000 people are currenlty present on the street outside Girgaum Chowpatty.
Raj Thackeray has cancelled his plans of walking down from Girgaum to Azad Maidan.
Raj Thackeray has cancelled his plans of walking down from Girgaum to Azad Maidan.
Instead, Raj Thackeray left the Girgaum Chowpatty in his car.
With people walking towards Azad Maidan, the road outside Girgaum Chowpatty has now cleared.
This has become more of a show of strength for MNS and Raj Thackeray rather than the protest against the Mumbai violence.
Raj Thackeray has currently reached Metro cinema and will reach Azad Maidan withing 15 minutes.
Raj Thackeray has reached Azad Maidan amidst chaos.
Dhaval Kulkarni who walked along with the protestors said MNS supporters walked all the way shouting anti-RR Patil and anti-Arup Patnaik slogans.
Yet, the rally has so far been peaceful with no untoward incident.
Raj Thackeray is set to speak shortly.
Thackeray has taken to the stage.
Raj Thackeray is finally on stage. Crowd hooted in delight as he began speech.
MNS is demanding the resignation of Minister of State for Home Affairs RR Patil and Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik over incidents of violence in Mumbai.
"Mumbai Police tried their best to stop this rally."
Raj Thackeray said that when he reached Girgaum and got off his car, he realised, given the huge numbers, it would be impossible to reach Azad Maidan if he had walked the whole stretch.
He said the cops had tried to stop him when he was on his way.
He said, "I called the chief minister and asked him 'Can't I talk to the people? It's OK when other organisations hold rallies, but we are blocked each time'."
"I have never crossed limits and I never will," he said.
"We are not hear to damage cars, we only want RR Patil's resignation"
Thackeray targets ACP Dhoble and his hockey-weilding tactics used to shut bars in Mumbai
"All I want to tell RR Patil and Arup Patnaik is that if there's even a little bit of shame left in you, come forward and resign"
Raj Thackeray says Maharashtra has become a den of foreigners. He said, Bangladeshis come to Mumbai and never leave. Holding a passport he said, "I found this passport at Azad Maidan on August 11. It is a Bangladeshi passport. Mumbai has become a den of Bangladeshis."
"When other leaders give incendiary speeches, no action is taken. Action is only reserved for Raj Thackeray. Why," he said, as he flicked the passport.
Taking a jibe at Vasant Dhoble, Raj said the Mumbai police force is compelled to harass youngsters having a good time.
"They reach there with hockey sticks. When asked why they were carrying hockey sticks, they say we were playing a match," he said.
After paying their respect to the country with the national anthem, Raj Thackeray shook hands with a police officer and left the stage.
The city police had Monday night grudgingly permitted MNS to hold a rally but barred the party from taking out a five-km procession from Girgaum Chowpatty to Azad Maidan.