india

Updated: Apr 22, 2019 06:36 IST

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has got the nod to hold two rallies in Mumbai, on April 23 and 24. The party had alleged discrimination against them while granting permissions, but the state poll body has denied the claim.

Thackeray will address a rally at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Maidan at Kala Chowki in South Mumbai and another in Bhandup. This assumes significance as the MNS is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, but Thackeray has been campaigning extensively against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah in the state, asking people to vote out the saffron party. The state BJP unit has recently claimed Thackeray is campaigning for the Congress and NCP candidates, and the expenditure of his rallies should be added to the candidates’ records. “We have got permissions to hold two rallies in Mumbai,” said MNS spokesperson Nitin Sardesai. “There was a delay in providing us permissions for Raj saheb’s rallies. The local authorities were asking us to go the EC and the latter was asking us to approach the local authorities,” he said. The state poll body, in a clarification released on Sunday, said parties have been given permission to hold rallies through a one-window system. “There is no bias. The MNS was granted permission on Sunday,” it said.