Patil says he needs MNS help

Deputy chief minister and home minister RR Patil on Wednesday turned to his and the state government’s tormentors over the last few months — the rampage-happy activists of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) — to help the state maintain law and order.
Patil threw in the towel virtually, expressing helplessness in maintaining law and order and saying that “the police force cannot provide bandobast in every nook and corner to prevent violence”.

“The miscreants are identifying the areas with less police force and targeting those areas. It is now time for MNS activists to understand the situation and co-operate with the government and the police,” he told the media at Mantralaya.

The MNS has been spearheading a campaign against north Indians in the city, Nashik and Pune for nearly six months now, vandalising taxis (mostly plied by the “outsiders”) and, more recently, allegedly attacked examinees who had come from Bihar and UP for a railway recruitment board exams.

Patil asked the Marathi people to “understand the pain” of Marathi people in other states who are being targeted by local parties there. (Apart from an instance of a Tata Motors manager in Jamshedpur being attacked, there has been no other incident of Maharashtrian being targeted anywhere in the country). He said their sufferings are similar to that of the people being targeted by MNS in the state. When asked about the role of the home department in the Jamshedpur warrant against Raj, Patil said that the party will take up the responsibility of reaching the Raj Thackeray up to the border of the Bihar.