The signature campaign, undertaken by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in support of its president Raj Thackeray's anti-North Indian stance and the state government's gag order, has received encouraging response from Marathi-speaking people, including politicians and celebrities.
The first politician to support Raj's view was rebel NCP MLA Dr Shalinitai Patil, followed by former Shiv Sena MP and litterateur Narayan Athavale.
A group of Maharashtrian artistes connected with the Marathi and Hindi film industry, including veteran actor Nana Patekar, Shreyas Talpade, Ashok Saraf, his wife Nivedita, Ankush Chaudhary, Prashant Damle, Mohan Joshi and Kanchan Adhikari have also voiced their support against "speech ban" on Raj.
The signature campaign, which is continuing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, has so far received over five lakh signatures.
On February 3, Raj Thackeray lashed out at North Indians working in the city, especially those from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, ahead of a rally by United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), organised by a constituent Samajwadi Party, at Shivaji Park on the same day. He also launched verbal attack against SP leader Amar Singh and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan.
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