Raj Thackeray to undergo a hip-bone surgery on June 1

Raj Thackeray’s surgery announcement came just a day after he announced that he would not be going to his much-hyped Ayodhya visit.

File Photo (PTI)

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray on Sunday said he would undergo surgery for knee and back problems on June 1. "I shall be undergoing hip bone surgery on June 1... I have been in pain for some time in the legs and now also in the back, IANS quoted Thackeray as saying during a rally in Pune. Thackeray’s surgery announcement came just a day after he announced that he would not be going to his much-hyped Ayodhya visit and was interpreted as a huge setback to the party. There was much speculation whether the trip was deferred owing to certain health issues and he himself set right the records on Sunday.

Earlier, he faced jibes from many politicians, including from the ruling Shiv Sena- Nationalist Congress Party-Congress, and other parties over the Ayodhya tour cancellation especially since it came at the peak of the `anti-loudspeakers` row in the state.

The trip postponement was sought to be linked with threats by Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, who has openly "vowed" to block Raj`s entry there till he apologises for the humiliating treatment meted out to North Indians during the MNS`s 2008.

Shiv Sena on Raj Thackeray’s Ayodhya trip postponement

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed MNS chief Raj Thackeray's claim that he had deferred his visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh as there was ploy to "trap" his party workers into legal issues and said such comments were made out of frustration.

"Who can stop you from going to Ayodhya? What conspiracy can be there?" Raut sought to know while talking to reporters here.

It was a "BJP-sponsored" visit, the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson claimed, while noting that Uttar Pradesh is governed by the saffron party.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)