Maharashtra Government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has taken effective steps for protection of lives and religious faith of north Indians and non-Marathis in the wake of an alleged hate campaign launched by Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The state government said that several agitators were arrested and cases were registered against MNS Chief Raj Thackeray for disrupting the Railway Recruitment Board Examination in October last year and making allegedly derogatory statements. The apex court was also told that the Chhat Puja, practiced by the people of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, was held peacefully this year and the previous year in which three to four lakhs devotees assembled at various places in Mumbai and no untoward incident had occurred. Maharashtra Government said this in an affidavit placed before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice B S Chauhan. The court was hearing a PIL filed in November 2008 by Delhi-based trader Salek Chand alleging attacks on north Indians by MNS that have led to a chain reaction elsewhere in the country and threatened to destroy the nation's unity and integrity.<br/>