MUMBAI: SHIV Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he and his cousin, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, have joined forces in the interest of ‘Marathi pride’ while sharing a political stage with him after nearly 20 years.
Uddhav sounded bullish when he said he and Raj will capture power in the Mumbai civic body elections and Maharashtra together. “We have come together to stay together,” he asserted.
At the public rally titled ‘Awaj Marathicha’ to celebrate the rollback of two government resolutions on introducing Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools, Uddhav said, “We won’t let the government impose Hindi on us.” MNS leader Amit Thackeray, Raj’s son, was seen sharing a hug with Uddhav’s son Aaditya on the stage.
Uddhav alleged that the people who are in power in Maharashtra, are “slaves of two Gujaratis. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde are in power, not to serve the interest of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos, but of their bosses in Delhi. We will never tolerate Hindi in Maharashtra. We will fight to safeguard our culture and language.”
On the rollback of the three-language formula in Maharashtra, both brothers said the BJP-led government had no other option. “The government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to the strong unity shown by Marathi people. This decision was a precursor to the plan of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra,” the MNS chief said, with Uddhav seated next.
Raj, in a lighter vein, credited Fadnavis with bringing him and Uddhav together, a feat even Balasaheb Thackeray could not accomplish.
“Your power is in the legislature, ours on the streets,” Raj said to thunderous applause.