Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that the communication with the BJP, his party's former ally, stopped in 2019 and never resumed.
Speaking at the launch of Sena (UBT) MP and 'Saamana' executive editor Sanjay Raut's latest book "Bodh Kirtan", Thackeray referred to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's comments two days ago.
Speaking at another book launch, attended by both Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Fadnavis had said, in a lighter vein, that he always responded positively whenever Uddhav called him. "After 2019, he did not call. I was waiting," the CM had said.
"Calls to some people stopped.... and then they stopped (for good)," the Sena (UBT) chief said at Saturday's function.
The undivided Shiv Sena parted ways with its long-time ally BJP over the post of chief minister after the 2019 Assembly polls. The relations became much more strained after the Sena split in 2022 and the Eknath Shinde-led faction joined the BJP camp.
In his speech, Thackeray also rued that the people's thinking capacity has vanished, and blamed it on the excessive use of mobile phones. On the one hand there is insistence on speaking in Marathi, but one should know chaste Marathi for it, otherwise it is useless, the Sena (UBT) chief said.
Amid opposition to a pumped storage project in Karjat, Uddhav Thackeray referred to another power project on the Sindhudurg-Kolhapur border, and said it too will be opposed.
The book "Bodh Kirtan" contains Raut's philosophical musings and experiences. There is also an article on the speech delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Speaking at the function, MNS chief Raj Thackeray traced Raut's journey as a journalist and the bond the two of them shared for over four decades.
Raj also recalled that Raut, when earlier he was working with another publication, used to write critical articles about the Shiv Sena, which incurred him Sena founder Bal Thackeray's displeasure.
Raj recalled Raut's first interview with Bal Thackeray for a magazine. The MNS chief said that Bal Thackeray used certain expletives for Raut, and the latter published the interview without omitting these words. Bal Thackeray liked this quality of Raut. Later it helped Raut become the executive editor of Saamana, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Raj Thackeray said.
(With inputs from PTI)
