Raj Thackeray will not seek anticipatory bail: MNS

Mumbai, Feb 12: A day after an FIR was lodged against him, Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena chief Raj Thackeray has resolved not to seek anticipatory bail.

''Raj Thackeray will not seek anticipatory bail, let the Government do what it wants,'' MNS activist Sandeep Deshpande told UNI today. He pointed out that even before the FIR had been filed against him, Mr Thackeray had told a press conference that he would not seek anticipatory bail in the event of a case being filed against him. ''Let the Government first take action against Raj Thackeray, we will then decide on the course of action, Mr Deshpande said.

Meanwhile, the city police has issued notices to Mr Thackeray and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi restraining them from holding press conferences or public rallies over the next one week.

Mr Azmi today visited Police Commissioner D N Jadhav's office to inquire about the action to be taken against him. The Commissioner told him that any action, if taken against him, will be taken at the appropriate time.

In a suo moto action, the city police had registered FIRs against Mr Thackeray and Mr Azmi Sunday last for making inflammatory speeches.

Mr Thackeray, while speaking at the press conference held by him earlier, had maintained that the violence in the metropolis and elsewhere in the state was in retaliation to the foul language used by the north Indians leaders against the Marathi ''manoos (people)''.

He had taken strong exception to Mr Azmi's reported statement: ''Hum lathi batenge (we will distribute batons)''.

''In that case, we will distribute swords: We have no problem with north Indians staying in Mumbai, but they should respect the people of Maharashtra,'' Mr Thackeray had then said in a press conference.

Meamwhile, the police have cordoned off 100 metres of area around the residences of Raj Thackeray at Dadar and Mr Azmi at Colaba since last evening.

The police also prevented MNS workers from meeting Mr Thackeray, according to Mr Deshpande. Likewise, Samajwadi Party activists were also prevented from meeting Mr Azmi.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, meanwhile, had warned yesterday that stern action would be taken against anywone who violated the law. ''No one is above the law,'' the Chief Minister had said in a statement. Mr Deshmukh had also acknowledged the contribution of ''outsiders'' to Mumbai's growth.

UNI