India, Nov. 18 -- A row has erupted in Navi Mumbai over Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Amit Thackeray, son of party chief Raj Thackeray, forcibly unveiling a statute of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Nerul that had allegedly been awaiting inauguration for more than six months.

The statue was unveiled by Thackeray, accompanied by around 70 MNS workers, on Sunday afternoon, amid chants of 'Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani' even as the police personnel on duty, clearly outnumbered, looked on. When evening fell, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) turned on the multi-colour lights installed in the premises, which seemed to suggest that all was well.

But around 8.30pm on Sunday, the NMMC issued a media statement condemning the forc...