Tiranga march will be non-political, with no slogans hailing leaders: Raj Thackeray

Mumbai, The July 26 joint march organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will be non-political, without flags of either party, and slogans should be restricted to condemning the government's action and supporting students, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said.

The joint "Tiranga" march is organised by Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, headed by Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray, respectively, in support of students and Cockroach Janta Party supporters demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

"This is a Tiranga March. It is completely non-political. There will be no party flags, there will be no slogans in support of the leaders of either party. There will be slogans condemning the government's actions and expressing our support for students and young people across the country," Raj Thackeray stated in a Facebook post on Saturday.


He said the march is being organised to protest against irregularities in the NEET examination and the government's attempts to suppress the movement of students.

"This is a Tiranga March. It is completely non-political. There will be no party flags, and there will be no slogans in support of the leaders of either party. There will be slogans condemning the government's actions and expressing our support for students and young people across the country," the MNS chief said.

He insisted that slogans should not be raised in the names of the Thackeray cousins who are convenors of the morcha.

"Although Uddhav (Thackeray) and I are convenors of the march, no slogans should be raised in our names. This is a students' march, and we must remain mindful of that," he said.

The MNS chief stressed that the objective of the march is to condemn the government's high-handedness in Delhi and the conduct of the Delhi Police acting under its directions.

At the same time, it is meant to express solidarity with the students who have stood their ground with their families without yielding to the government, and with those who cannot travel to Delhi or come to Mumbai to register their protest, he said.

"Through this march, we want to show them that the entire state of Maharashtra stands firmly behind them," he said.

Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said the government may have the power of 'lathis' (batons); however, protesters have 'tirangas' (tricolours) in their hands.

"This is 'jan ki baat' (voice of people) and Delhi has to listen to it. The way students were attacked, tear-gassed, I am warning the government -- you can have lathis, but we have tirangas. Let's see who wins," he said as thousands of protesters converged in the Dadar area of Mumbai.