The Marathi daily "Maharashtra Times" editorial on Raj's arrest said that his arrest was a big farce, from which he emerged with pomp and style. It condemned the violence that resulted after the arrest that forced thousands of migrant workers to uproot themselves from various parts of Maharashtra. "Loksatta" criticised the television channels for their relentless replay of just two instances to portray the violent impact of his arrest. The edit blamed Hindi channels for making Mumbai look like Gujarat during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Another editor in the same daily also wrote that the "Marathi andolan" (Marathi demonstration) will not benefit any party, as the Marathi vote would be divided between the Shiv Sena and MNS. "Lokmat", another popular Marathi daily, published a special on a population survey conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), according to which, there has been a 21% decrease in the migrant population in the city since 1961. The North Indian population, however, witnessed an increase from 12 to 24 percent. "Saamna"'s editorial asked what wrong Ambadas Bararao, the Maharashtrian man killed in the violence, had committed. The editor of "Sakal" wrote that although Raj had gained political mileage by taking up the cause of Marathi people, its impact was severe on the migrants, who had to flee the state.