The controversial statement calling for the burning of the new auto rickshaws, which will hit the streets after new permits are granted, was made by Raj at his party's 10th anniversary on Wednesday.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday withdrew his call to party workers to set autorickshaws on fire, after facing flak from all quarters.
"As per the directives of Raj Thackeray Saheb we request that till further directives no action should be taken on the autorickshaw agitation," a message circulated by senior MNS leader Shirish Sawant said, according to the Indian Express.
After a severe electoral drubbing, it was back to the basics for Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Wednesday, whose party chief Raj Thackeray reverted to the sons-of-soil, rabid anti-migrant agenda by calling on his men to burn new rickshaws, alleging that most of the fresh rickshaw permits being distributed by the state in Mumbai will go to "outsiders."
The controversial statement calling for the burning of the new auto rickshaws, which will hit the streets after new permits are granted, was made by Raj at his party's 10th anniversary on Wednesday. This incendiary statement may be an effort to polarise voters before the civic polls in Mumbai, Pune and Thane in early 2017 and reclaim lost ground.
In a pep talk to his party cadre, Raj noted that personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sachin Tendulkar had seen bad patches. "These things happen in the lives of all political parties and people. They cannot be avoided," he stressed.
Urging his party workers to stand steadfast with their sons-of-soil agenda, Raj lashed out at the state government and the Shiv Sena, which holds charge of the transport department, and alleged that it had been decided that around 70 to 72% of the 70,000 rickshaw permits would go to people from other states and the current interview process for applicants was just an eyewash.
Demanding that only Maharashtrian youth and not just those who knew Marathi should be given these rickshaw permits, Raj asked his party men to "evacuate the passengers and the driver when they saw a new rickshaw or a rickshaw with a new number plate on the road... and set it on fire."
"Otherwise, these people will not learn a lesson," he said, while questioning chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on why the process had been hastened.
"The minister in charge of this department (Diwakar Raote) belongs to the Shiv Sena. When we talk about the Marathi manoos, we do so with conviction, not in a pretentious manner like you do," Raj charged.
The domicile and police clearance conditions had also been relaxed with the successful applicants being asked to submit these documents after they received their permits and badges, he alleged.
"The change in the government has made no difference. Only the faces have changed, the work remains the same," he alleged.
The MNS has seen its core and incremental vote shrink as was evidenced by its falling electoral graph during the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. In the 2014 assembly elections, the number of MNS MLAs fell to just one from 13 in 2009.
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