Mumbai: Notwithstanding a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threat, hawkers on Thursday staged a sit-in at Azad Maidan here, to voice their various demands.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray had recently warned hawkers, not to stage protests or else face "MNS-style" action, but they went ahead with the protest today.
Madan Jaiswal, a 40-year-old hawker operating in Santacruz (East), died during a recent eviction drive ordered by ACP Vasant Dhoble. Hawkers had claimed that Dhoble assaulted Jaiswal, but medical reports said he died of brain hemorrhage.
Azad Hawkers` Union said that the protest was not aimed at ACP Dhoble, but against the delay in implementation the National Vendors` Policy by the state government and the aggressive anti-hawker drive by the police in the past few weeks.
PTI
