With the police quietly making hundreds of preventive arrests and the Bombay High Court coming down heavily on both the state government and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, party chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday backed off from his aggressive posture on Marathi signboards.

Hours after the police said that over 1,100 MNS activists and supporters had been taken into preventive custody since Wednesday, Thackeray asked his workers to refrain from violent protests against shops and businesses that were yet to put up Marathi signboards, the municipal deadline for which ended on Thursday.

Putting up a brave face, he said: “Since the government is telling us not to take the law into our hands, we will wait and see how the Municipal Commissioner and the state Government implement the law so that we don't have to take to the streets.”

Meanwhile, responding to a petition filed by the Federation of Retail Traders and Welfare Association (FRTWA), the High Court restrained the MNS from disturbing or hindering business activity and damaging property. It also warned against making any provocative or intimidating speech regarding the subject”.

The court also directed the state Government to ensure that law and order was maintained.