No one can stop me from visiting Barsu: Uddhav Thackeray issues open challenge to Shinde govt

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Monday announced that he will be visiting Barsu village in the state’s coastal Ratnagiri district on May 6 where 111 people, including women, were arrested last week as they continued their protest with the state government starting the process of land survey to set up one of the biggest petrochemical refineries in the country. Addressing the Opposition MVA’s rally on the occasion of Maharashtra Day at the Bandra Kurla Complex ground, he said, “No one can stop me from going there. I will go Barsu first and then to Mahad, for Sena rally.”

Addressing the Vajramuth rally Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray asserted, "Barsu is not Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or Bangladesh. I will go there and no one can stop me." He announced that he will visit Barsu on May 6 (Saturday). I had suggested Barsu as an optional site for the refinery. But I had not suggested to charge lathis, fire tear gas or bullets on the villagers and set up a refinery there,' Thackeray said.

Last week, the protest against the proposed petrochemical refinery escalated when villagers attempted to forcibly enter the survey site. In response, the police fired tear gas and lathi charges to disperse the crowd, which resulted in several villagers sustaining injuries.Subsequently, over 200 villagers who managed to enter the site, where soil testing for one of the country's largest petrochemical refinery projects is underway, were detained and transported to Ratnagiri. The Ratnagiri police arrested 201 protesters, including 181 women and 37 men, on charges of assaulting a public servant, rioting, unlawful assembly, molestation, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).