After nearly 20 years, estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the public stage once again. On Saturday, they came together in Mumbai for a "mega victory gathering" to celebrate the Maharashtra government's decision to roll back the three-language policy in primary schools.
The event, titled 'Awaj Marathicha' (Voice of the Marathi), was jointly organised by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), marking the first time since 2005 that the two estranged cousins shared a stage.
Reason behind the reunion
Here's what the two leaders spoke about
What Raj Thackeray said:
- "Maharashtra is bigger than any politics and fight. Today, after 20 years, Uddhav and I have come together. What Balasaheb could not do, Devendra Fadnavis did it... The work of bringing both of us together," the MNS chief said.
- I don’t have anything against Hindi, no language is bad. It takes a lot of effort to build a language.
- We Marathi people ruled over a lot of states during the Maratha Empire, but we never enforced Marathi on those parts.
- Yesterday, a businessman was attacked in Mira Road.. was "Gujarati" written on his forehead? We haven’t even done anything yet. That man should have known Marathi.
- Don’t assault anyone without reason, but if someone acts too smart, make sure to land one below his ear. Next time you hit someone, don’t film a video of it.
- They started with the experiment of imposing Hindi over us and were trying to test if we would not have opposed it, they would have gone up to making Mumbai separate from Maharashtra."
- There can be no compromise on the Marathi language and Marathi issues.
Uddhav took the stage after his cousin. Addressing the rally, Uddhav said their coming together on one stage is bigger than what he said. In a major affirmation, the Shiv Seba (UBT) chief said "they have come together to stay united in the future".
In a first-of-its-kind move, the two leaders also posed for pictures with their families on stage.
What Uddhav Thackeray said:
- After many years, Raj Thackeray and I have shared the stage once again. Raj addressed me as 'Honourable Uddhav Thackeray'… and I say the same, 'Honourable Raj Thackeray', his work too is significant.
- Today, more important than my speech is the fact that we have come together.
- The distance between us has ended. We have come together to stay united.
- We accept Hindustan, but we will not tolerate the forced imposition of Hindi. Power comes and goes, but our strength should lie in our unity.
- Whenever a crisis arises, we come together, but once it passes, we drift apart. Now, we must stay united always. During the assembly elections, we thought they were dividing people on the basis of Hindu and Muslim, but they ended up creating a divide among Marathis themselves.
Thackeray reunion after 20 years
Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Raj Thackeray, president of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), are known for their strong advocacy of Marathi identity and language. Their joint appearance comes just ahead of the upcoming local body elections, including the high-stakes Mumbai civic polls.
The last time the Thackeray cousins were seen together on stage was during the 2005 campaign for the Malvan assembly bypoll, held after former chief minister Narayan Rane left the undivided Shiv Sena. Later that year, Raj parted ways with the party and went on to form the MNS in 2006.
