Raj Thackeray appeals to MNS supporters to maintain calm

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday appealed to his party workers to maintain peace, and added that the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has called for a meeting on this issue tomorrow morning.

"I request all my supporters and people of Maharashtra to maintain peace. They should ensure that no violence takes place. The Chief Minister has called for a meeting tomorrow at 9 am. Whatever we have demanded we have put forth. We did not intend to cause any inconvenience to people. We wanted the Government to know what our demands were," he said.

Thackeray was released by the Mumbai Police after he was detained and taken under preventive custody while he was on his way to the Vashi toll plaza to lead a non-violent protest.

MNS party workers were out on streets protesting against the collection of tax at toll plazas in the state, and nearly 500 party workers have already been taken into preventive custody across the state so far.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened across the state, especially at toll booths.

Thackeray was served a notice yesterday by the city police, asking him to refrain from any activity that would create law and order problems.