After a long span of 20 years, both Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and MNS head Raj Thackeray appeared together publicly for the first time. According to news agency PTI, both the leaders united in opposition to what they call the alleged enforcement of the Hindi language by the Maharashtra government in the state.
Amid the reunion of the Thackeray brothers, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have reacted to the joint rally and called it a measure of “public appeasement” and an “anti-Hindu gathering.”
Reacting to the development, the state president of BJP, Ashish Shelar, criticised the joint rally and called it a "public appeasement" campaign aimed at elections rather than their voice on language issues.
In a post on social media platform X, Shelar condemned the Shiv Sena (UBT) and said, "This is not for the language.. but a public appeal for the elections! With the municipal elections approaching, the panicked Uddhav Sena, scared of BJP, now remembers "family ties"... The program in Worli today was a family bonding event to publicly appeal to the brother they had thrown out of the house."
There was no love for the language or anything like that... and it doesn’t even matter to them!
"This is a desperate struggle to gain power in the municipality and to loot Mumbai again... for the sake of power. The handshake between Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray is nothing but..An attempt to win the family "battle" because they fear losing the election!!,” he further added.
Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule accused Uddhav Thackeray of duplicity in his stand on the Marathi language.
"Under the guise of championing Marathi, Uddhav Thackeray today lamented the loss of power in Worli. But he has not explained why, as chief minister in 2022, he accepted a report recommending compulsory Hindi from Class 1," Bawankule said in his post on X.
The senior BJP leader claimed the former CM's real agenda was not 'M' for Marathi, but 'M' for Municipal Corporation.
Have come together to stay together: Uddhav
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he and MNS head Raj Thackeray have come together to stay united as the cousins shared a political stage for the first time after two decades on the issue of Marathi identity and imposition of the Hindi language. Addressing a victory rally in Worli to celebrate the rollback of the Hindi language GRs (resolutions) by the BJP-led government, Uddhav hinted at contesting the upcoming civic elections together.
We have come together to stay together. We will together capture power in the Mumbai civic body and Maharashtra, he said, evoking loud cheers from the crowd in the packed NSCI Dome. The elections to the high-profile civic body in Mumbai, which Sena considers its citadel and homeground, and other municipal corporations are due in coming months.
Speaking ahead of Uddhav, the only person seated on the stage, Raj quipped that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has managed to do what Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and others couldn't by bringing the two cousins together.
After he quit Shiv Sena in 2005 over apparent differences with his cousin, Raj Thackeray formed the MNS and has been projecting it as the true champion of the cause of the sons-of-the-soil.The parties, led by the cousins, had since contested elections against each other notwithstanding the intermittent calls for reunion raised by certain quarters.