Activists of Raj Thackeray's Maharashta Navnirman Sena (MNS) exchanged blows with the security staff of the Mumbai University when the latter refused them entry into the campus to meet the authorities.
"Our workers had taken an appointment and gone in a delegation to meet the varsity officials, including the registrar, to discuss certain academic issues when the university's security officials at the Fort Campus in south Mumbai refused them entry," said MNS spokesman Shirish Parker.
The issue pertained to a recent circular of the university making Marathi language optional in subjects like Social Sciences. "This is not acceptable to us, we wanted to lodge our protest and get the circular revoked," Parker added.
The Azad Maidan police have detained 10 MNS activists, including the MNS student wing leader, Aditya Shirodkar.