Both Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have supported Sonam Wangchuk

Mumbai: Cousins Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who were among the early supporters of activist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite fast, on Thursday announced a Tiranga morcha for the public from Shivaji Park to Siddhivinayak temple from 10am on Sunday.On Friday too, the two parties will lead a public gathering near Meenatai Thackeray’s statue at Dadar Shivaji Park at 4pm, followed by the recitation of the national anthem at 5pm under the slogan ‘One Nation – One Emotion’.Both events are open to the public and will display only the Indian flag. “I spoke to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the party might support the morcha on Sunday,” said Uddhav.Taking a strong view of police beating protesters in Delhi, Raj warned, “If anyone tries to disrupt our peaceful march on Sunday, we will beat them up. If hooligans enter the march, we will not spare them.”Uddhav said that the issue had gone beyond NEET and that the simmering anger among people over years of ‘Modi rule’ had become an outburst. “When I visited Delhi, I met a young man who had come to Jantar Mantar because had lost his entire livelihood during demonetisation,” said the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief.Raj said the govt had ignored the protesters and now the anger had entered every home. “The protest has entered every home and the govt is now on the backfoot. Everyone can join our protest. Even Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi or NCP chief Sharad Pawar,” he added.The MNS chief also criticised the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for saying that he did not have time to watch videos of the protest: “He gave birth to the cockroach. And now he does not have time to watch his child,” mocked Raj.Uddhav added, “The courts have time for dogs and pigeons, but not cockroaches. Has the situation in the court also become like that of Dhritarashtra? It’s like Draupadi is asking Dhritarashtra for justice.”He alleged that BJP had introduced goons in civilian clothes into the protests to foment violence. “Who are these people in civilian clothes wielding police lathis?” asked Uddhav. “BJP has got goons from Pakistan to try and disrupt the protest.”In a related development, Congress has demanded action against police personnel who allegedly violated students’ privacy by checking their mobile phones and illegally detaining them during the recent protests.A party delegation, led by Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, met state director general of police Sadanand Date and Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti and submitted a memorandum outlining its concerns. In their memorandum, the party raised four issues: violation of privacy, illegal detention of around 700 students, misuse of prohibitory orders to register FIRs, and release of students who were still in detention at different police stations.Sapkal alleged that police had detained students who had not even reached the main protest venue. They were illegally picked up from Metro stations, public roads, and even directly from their homes, he claimed.Meanwhile, to provide necessary assistance and legal guidance to students during protests and similar situations, Mumbai Congress has constituted a special task force of its workers, and district coordinators have been appointed by the party, along with one lawyer, for each assembly constituency.