India, Jan. 26 -- Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that Maharashtra will stage a movement to free India from the "slavery of an autocratic regime". At a Samvidhan (Constitution) Poojan function to create awareness about the need to protect the Constitution and democracy in India, held on the eve of Republic Day on Saturday, Thackeray said, "Whenever the tricolour is in danger, the saffron from Maharashtra will protect it."

Launching an all-out attack on his political rivals and detractors without naming them, he said, "Unfortunately, those who did not participate in the Independence movement are ruling this country and trying to rewrite the definition of independence, the Constitution and destroying constitutional institutions...