Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday lashed out at toll booth officials in Khalapur, Maharashtra, after he witnessed a long line of vehicles waiting to pay tolls.
Thackeray was returning to Mumbai from a program in Pimpri when his car was caught in the traffic jam. He also noticed that a medical emergency vehicle was stuck in the same jam.
According to the rules, vehicles should be allowed to pass through toll booths without paying tolls if the line of vehicles extends beyond the yellow line. However, the toll booth officials in Khalapur were still collecting tolls even after the line of vehicles had extended beyond the yellow line.
Thackeray got out of his car and personally spoke to the toll booth officials. He demanded that they immediately allow all vehicles to pass through without paying tolls. He also threatened to take action against the officials if such an incident happened again.
Thackeray's actions provided relief to the motorists who were stuck in the traffic jam. It remains to be seen whether Thackeray will launch a new agitation against tolls in the coming days. He has been a vocal critic of tolls for many years and has even met with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to demand that the government take action against illegal toll collection.