Raj Thackeray fumes over ‘superficial’ security upgrade by Home Dept

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is angry over the enhanced security detail provided to him by the Maharashtra government over threats issued to him for taking up the cudgels to reduce noise levels emanating from loudspeakers on mosque rooftops during the Aazan call for prayers.

A day after his Senapati Bala Nandgaonkar met Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil (of the Nationalist Congress Party) requesting an upgrade in the security detail for his party boss, a supposedly superficial increase in Thackeray’s ‘Y’ security detail was actually effected.

According to a wellplaced source, “The enhancement of police security for the MNS chief includes one additional police sub-inspector and two more police constables, which is more like a slight to him than a security upgrade.”

Expectedly, Raj Thackeray is fuming over the apparent slight, in the wake of the ‘Z’-plus security detail provided to Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Kirit Sommaiya, actor Kangana Raut and even Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane (BJP) after they took on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray through public posturings.

The Union Home Ministry, under Amit Shah, may be next on Raj Thackeray’s list to reach out to for a real upgrade of his security detail before his Ayodya visit on June 05. When contacted by First India, a Union Home Ministry official only said, “We will ensure that not only Raj Thackeray but also his nephew and Maharashtra Minister for Environment Aditya Thackeray’s visit to seek the blessings of Lord Rama will be conducted in a safe and secure atmosphere.”