'Asked them to take alternate route': Devendra Fadnavis refutes claim of denying permission for MNS protests

Amid reports of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) being denied permission to hold a protest at Mira Road, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the administration asked them to take an alternate route, to which they did not agree.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said, “It would be wrong to say that we did not permit the protest at Mira Road. I have spoken to the commissioner, who told me that the Police did not refuse permission for the protest.”

He said that the MNS workers asked permission to protest on a route where it was not possible to approve.

"They had asked for permission for a meeting. We were giving them that permission, but they wanted to hold a protest march on a route where it was not possible to do so. We asked them to take an alternate route, but they did not agree to it. It would be wrong to say that they were not given permission," the CM said.

MNS protest amid vandalism and violence over Marathi-Hindi row

MNS workers were set to hold a protest at Mira Road on Tuesday, while police denied them permission for a certain route. The MNS protest came against the backdrop of the backlash faced by the party amid vandalism and violence over the Marathi-Hindi row.

Additional CP Dutta Shinde said, “There was a reason not to permit the protest due to an incident which occurred here earlier. The police are fully alert and taking lawful action to maintain law and order here. The situation is peaceful. We are telling people not to gather here. He (Avinash Jadhav ) is under preventive detention.”

Mos Home Yogesh Ramdas Kadam said, “There is no politics in this. The location where they have requested permission may create a few issues. We have told them to change the location, and then permission will be granted. But they are not willing to change the place.”

The row began when, as per a viral video, a group of men allegedly associated with a regional party beat up a shop owner for not speaking in Marathi. The incident occurred in the Mira-Bhayandar area near Mumbai. 

In another incident, five workers of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were arrested in connection with the vandalism at entrepreneur Sushil Kedia's office in Worli, police said on Saturday. A case has been registered against them under Sections 223, 189(2), 189(3), 190, 191(2), 191(3), and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.