Sena lashes out at Raj, says toll stir planned for political gain

MNS cadre across Maharashtra had gone on a rampage after party president Raj Thackeray told his supporters not to pay toll and thrash anyone who forced them to pay. The Shiv Sena claimed that the anti-toll campaign was initiated by it and the MNS was trying to hijack the issue.

“The Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI had recently announced that we would make Maharashtra toll free as soon as we come to power. People were elated with this announcement. But it seems to have caused consternation for some political parties which have been sleeping till now,” said the edit.

It also also criticised the MNS for dropping the toll issue, which it had taken up in 2012, without getting any concrete assurance from the authorities that toll would be scrapped or problems in the system would be rectified.

In the editorial, the party acknowledged that the toll system had been started during the tenure of the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
“Because of the toll, six-lane Pune-Mumbai Expressway came up. People happily paid it because of the comfort travel. There were never potholes. But can you say the same thing for roads in Kolhapur, Nashik. Why should we pay toll for bad roads,” it states.