NEW DELHI: Uddhav Thackeray and cousin Raj Thackeray shared the stage at a mega rally in Mumbai organised by their parties to mark the withdrawal of government resolutions (GRs) related to the three-language policy. Attacking the BJP-led Mahayuti during his address, Raj Thackeray said: “How did they suddenly bring in the imposition of Hindi without any discussion? For what purpose, and for whom? This is an injustice to young children. Without any consultation, you’re trying to force it upon us. You may rule the assembly – but we rule the streets.”“Chief minister Fadnavis managed to do what Balasaheb Thackeray could not – bring myself and Uddhav together,” Raj Thackeray said in a dig at Devendra Fadnavis.The MNS chief said the Maharashtra government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to “strong unity shown by Marathi people”.
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“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. 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 upto making Mumbai separate from Maharashtra,” Raj Thackeary said during a rally being held at the NSCI Dome in central Mumbai’s Worli, which falls in the assembly constituency of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.Uddhav Thackeray said he and Raj Thackeray “together will capture power in Mumbai civic body and Maharashtra”.
“We have come together to stay together,” Uddhav said. He said: “You (Shiv Sena) have used us enough already. If you didn’t have the support of Balasaheb Thackeray, who knew you in Maharashtra. Who are you to teach us about Hindutva? When riots were happening in Mumbai, then we Marathi people had saved every Hindu in Maharashtra, be it anyone. If you are calling Marathi people ‘gundas’ doing their protest, seeking justice. Then yes, we are ‘gunda’.Thackeray brothers’ latest appearance comes in the backdrop of protests against an April 16 government resolution (GR) issued by the BJP-led Mahayuti government, which made Hindi a compulsory third language for students in Classes 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools. After a sharp backlash, the government amended the GR on June 17 to make Hindi optional. On June 29, the cabinet decided to withdraw both the original and amended GRs altogether.That same day, leaders from both Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS burned copies of the GRs and planned a protest march for July 5. However, following the rollback, the parties scrapped the protest and announced a joint “victory” rally instead.For the “victory” event, both parties decided to avoid displaying their respective flags, symbols, or party colours during the rally, a move widely seen as a message of cultural unity over partisan politics.The symbolism of the event is also being weighed against the parties’ recent electoral performances. In the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, while the MNS failed to open its account.The last time the two Thackerays came together publicly was during the 2005 Malvan assembly bypoll campaign, shortly after former chief minister Narayan Rane had exited the undivided Shiv Sena. Raj went on to quit the party later that year and launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in 2006.
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