India, July 8 -- After workers of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were detained in large numbers while protesting in Thane on Tuesday, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that "nobody was denied permission for a march, but the marchers were insistent on a particular route".

This route, he said, could not have been granted as it could have led to "law and order issues".

The MNS wanted to hold a counter-protest after a march by traders over MNS men thrashing a shop owner for refusing to speak Marathi last week. The 'speak-Marathi-or-else' threats and violence has escalated in recent weeks as the MNS claims the BJP-led state government wants to impose Hindi in the state.

After MNS workers did not agree to police's decis...