'I won't cow down by MNS chief Raj Thackeray's threat': Amar Singh

Mumbai, Feb 2 (UNI) Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh tonight said he will not be cowed down by the threat from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray.

''I am already in Mumbai and the rally tomorrow will go as per schedule. I am going to do my job ... I am not afraid of anything,'' Mr Singh told UNI.

Describing Raj as a 'rootless' and 'frustrated politician' who does not have any mass base, he said ''I cannot stoop to Raj's level.'' ''I am a true Gandhian and do not believe in violence at all. I am fighting for a just cause,'' the SP leader said.

He also said Mumbai was not a foreign land but very much a part of India, and so he did not require any visa or somebody's permission to enter the city.

Stating that the tomorrow's rally would be attended by five former chief ministers with 'Z' plus security, it was the duty of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and State Home Minister R R Patil to ensure the safety of these leaders and others.

The United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) comprising Samajwadi Party, Telgu Desam Party (TDP), Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), National Conference (NC), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and some other political parties has organised a rally at Shivaji Park, Dadar in Central Mumbai against the policies of the UPA government at the Centre. The rally is likely to be attended by SP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi and Amar Singh.

Earlier in the day, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, had allegedly threatened that he would not allow the SP leader to enter the city.

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