Thackeray Cousins Target BJP at Joint Shivaji Park Rally
MNS chief Raj Thackeray appealed to the Marathi people to unite for Mumbai and Maharashtra.
Mumbai: The Thackeray cousins on Sunday made a scathing attack on the BJP targeting the saffron party on various issues. While Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray called the BJP’s Hindutva a ‘sham’, MNS head Raj Thackeray termed the BMC elections ‘a last chance for Marathi Manoos’ to thwart BJP’s efforts to break Mumbai from Maharashtra.
For the first time after they announced an alliance, the Thackeray cousins held a joint rally together at Shiv Sena’s traditional venue Shivaji Park in Dadar. The brothers reiterated they came together for the cause of Marathi Manoos and Maharashtra.
Uddhav said, “The love for Marathi, the mother tongue, must be in one’s blood. We will not sit idly at home while our home, state and language are being torn apart right before our eyes. We have buried out disputes and come together for Marathi. We have stood together as a force for the Marathi people, Hindus and Maharashtra.”
He also slammed Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for creating a divide between Hindus and Muslims. “If you show me a speech you have given that does not involve the Hindu-Muslim issue, I will give Rs one lakh,” Uddhav said.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray appealed to the Marathi people to unite for Mumbai and Maharashtra. “There was a similar crisis during the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. Now that crisis has arrived at your doorstep. A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy you. Once your land and language are gone, you are finished. This is the last chance. If you make a mistake now, you will lose everything,” he added.
The reason we came together was the crisis facing Mumbai. We came together against the imposition of Hindi. Maharashtra is greater than any dispute or quarrel; that was the basic idea behind our coming together, he added.
Raj Thackeray alleged that a long-term plan was underway to connect Mumbai to Gujarat. “The Vadhavan port is coming up, I said that’s good, but then they are building an airport there, why? Because they are going to shift the cargo operations of Mumbai airport there. They want the land of Mumbai airport. Gujarat is adjacent to Vadhavan and for that, they will need to take control of Palghar (where Vadhavan is located). They will need to take control of parts of Thane. A long-term plan is underway to connect Mumbai to Gujarat,” Raj said.
