‘What Bal Thackeray could not do, Fadnavis has — bring me and Uddhav together': Raj Thackeray at Mumbai rally
Taking a swipe at the state government, he added: 'Finally, they witnessed the power of Maharashtra and Marathi people and that's what forced them to withdraw the GRs on the three-language formula.'
The Thackeray cousins are holding a victory rally in Mumbai over the Maharashtra government's U-turn on introducing Hindi as a third language in primary schools.
At the rally, Raj Thackeray said that there would be no compromise when it comes to Marathi in Maharashtra and that Balasaheb Thackeray dream would be accomplished. 'This Unity for Marathi should remain intact. The BJP government was forced to withdraw its notifications on the three-language formula as they realised Maharashtra will not accept it.'
He added: 'Look at the irony, the Hindi speaking states are economically backward and non-Hindi speaking states are ahead. Still, these people want us to learn Hindi. Why? For what? I am not against Hindi but why impose it by attacking the regional language?'
Invoking history, the MNS chief said: 'The Maratha empire ruled half of the country, including Gujarat, North Indian states. Did we impose Marathi? No. Hindi is just 200 years old. Why was it being done unnecessarily? They actually wanted to test if Mumbai can be separated from Maharashtra.'
Speaking about BJP veteran L K Advani, Raj asked: 'L K Advani studied in a Christian missionary convent school…. in English medium…. can anybody question his Hindutva?' He added, 'Shrikant Thackeray (my grandfather) studied in English medium… can you question his commitment for Marathi? Where you studied and in which language has nothing to do with your commitment for Marathi. It has come from within.'
The rally comes a day after CM Devendra Fadnavis, whose government is on the backfoot over the move to include Hindi as the third language in primary schools in the state, had issued a stern warning. Saying that there was nothing wrong about harbouring Marathi pride, Fadnavis said, 'It does not give individuals the licence to force, intimidate, or physically assault those who do not speak Marathi.'
In Mumbai, the Marathi vote bank accounts for up to 30 to 35 per cent. In the past, the BJP often depended on alliance partner, the undivided Shiv Sena, to bag the Marathi votes in Mumbai and its adjoining districts. The MNS, on the other hand, was often used by pan-Indian parties to cut into Shiv Sena votes.
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