In pics: Raj Thackeray marches to get better facilities for Mumbai train commuters

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s protest in Mumbai, held following the Elphinstone Road bridge stampede, saw supporters from across the state

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray held a protest march in south Mumbai today to demand better rail infrastructure for train commuters, after last week’s stampede at Elphinstone Road station, which claimed 23 lives.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray address the crowd at Churchgate on Thursday. (Pratik Chorge/HT)

MNS chief Raj Thackeray has given a 15-day deadline to the railway administration to clear hawkers from all FOBs. (Pratik Chorge)

“MNS workers will take matters into their own hands if the Railways fail to remove the hawkers,” Thackeray threatened, while addressing the crowd at Churchgate.

Supporters from across the state gathered near Metro Cinema. (Pratik Chorge/HT)

Thackeray started the march from Metro cinema and went up to the Western Railway headquarters at Churchgate station.

Supporters hold banners objecting to the BJP’s ambitious bullet train project. (Pratik Chorge)

Thackeray said there is no difference between the current BJP government at the Centre and the previous one, and that the woes of Mumbai’s commuters have remained unsolved for decades.

A group of protesters at the venue. (Bhushan Koyande)

Thackeray slammed the Modi government for chasing ambitious projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. “The project is being built for a handful of people in Gujarat and Mumbai, but the entire country will have to repay the loan to be taken for it,” he alleged.

The MNS chief said Suresh Prabhu was ousted from the post of Union railway minister for saying no to the bullet train project. (Bhushan Koyande)

Thackeray also targeted PM Narendra Modi and the BJP government over demonetisation and economic slowdown.

The crowd started gathering close to the venue around 11.30am. (Pratil Chorge/HT)

He ended warning the government that if his demands are not met, his next march would not be peaceful.