A grossly misguided, highly biased viewpoint has been presented, that while pretending there was never any issue to talk about, avoids the real facts, blaming political rivalry between the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Udhav, for Raj Thackeray's "misadventure".
Problems do not get solved by ignoring them and pretending they do not exist. Fires do not start without a reason, and the real reason was not Udhav. Raj Thackeray has shot into the limelight and the center stage of politics in Maharashtra by boldly choosing to protest on an issue that desperately needed to be addressed. That of curbing/restricting the mass influx of hoardes from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, severely straining Mumbai's public utilities to the limits, depriving the locals of jobs and sources of livelihood, while raking up social tensions, what with the likes of rabble rousing leaders of U.P. and Bihar openly announcing plans to create a vote bank of North Indians in Mumbai to ensure a victory for their political parties.
Many believe Raj Thackeray's supporters protests should not have been violent. They could have protested in a non-violent manner. True. Very true. And they did. They waited patiently for several months for the daily influx of hoardes from the north to taper off, which did not. They waited patiently for the political leaders of U.P. and Bihar to talk less agressively about their political plans, which they did not. A volcano was waiting to erupt and it did, spearheaded by Raj Thackeray.
