Twenty years on, Thackeray cousins bury the hatchet
Uddhav sounded bullish when he said he and Raj will capture power in the Mumbai civic body elections and Maharashtra together. 'We have come together to stay together,' he asserted.
At the public rally titled 'Awaj Marathicha' to celebrate the rollback of two government resolutions on introducing Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools, Uddhav said, 'We won't let the government impose Hindi on us.' MNS leader Amit Thackeray, Raj's son, was seen sharing a hug with Uddhav's son Aaditya on the stage.
Uddhav alleged that the people who are in power in Maharashtra, are 'slaves of two Gujaratis. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde are in power, not to serve the interest of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos, but of their bosses in Delhi. We will never tolerate Hindi in Maharashtra. We will fight to safeguard our culture and language.'
On the rollback of the three-language formula in Maharashtra, both brothers said the BJP-led government had no other option. 'The government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to the strong unity shown by Marathi people. This decision was a precursor to the plan of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra,' the MNS chief said, with Uddhav seated next.
Raj, in a lighter vein, credited Fadnavis with bringing him and Uddhav together, a feat even Balasaheb Thackeray could not accomplish.
'Your power is in the legislature, ours on the streets,' Raj said to thunderous applause.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Samosa for 5 paise, BEST bus 5: CJI on nostalgic trip at Girgaum school
Mumbai: Supreme Court Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai on Sunday visited Chikitsak Samuh High School, Girgaum where he studied from classes 3 to 7, between 1969 and 1973, in Marathi medium. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The CJI praised his teachers for shaping him, crediting the debating skills he honed there and values of equality and social benevolence inculcated in students for his rise to the topmost post in the Indian judiciary. Walking down memory lane, the CJI shared nostalgic moments. "Mother would give me 20 paise. I would walk towards Mantralaya to catch BEST bus 5 to Gaiwadi and walk some more to school The bus ticket cost 5 paise. In those days, a samosa patti would cost 5 paise with home-made jam, and misal pavcost 10 paise." The school was then surrounded by chawls. "...The chawls are still visible from the school. The Marathi sanskriti is still intact here. This is part of the real 'amchi Mumbai'," he said in Marathi to a gathering of his former batchmates, teachers, and current school students, some of whom, as part of NCC, practised hard to form a band within six months to welcome him. "Of all welcomes I received so far across India and even abroad as CJI, the little children's performance today as a band was the warmest," Justice Gavai gushed. "I was interested in debates. My journey in public speaking began on this stage. Also, PT class by Joshi sir induced the necessary discipline in us as students. Studying in Marathi medium was not a handicap; it grounded me," he added. Chikitsak is now an English medium ICSE school as well. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The CJI, who is due to retire in November, met his classmates who finished 10th in 1976. He met old school staff and, most of all, remembered one teacher whose signature on his school leaving certificate was the memento he was presented with. He advised young students to work hard, be honest. The three-storey school building in Sadashiv Cross Lane has no lifts. On Sunday, local MLA and minister, MP Lodha, who was also present, promised to help with paperwork to install one.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
MPCC vice-president slams Biren, accuses him of ‘misleading people'
1 2 Imphal: Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee ( MPCC ) vice-president Hareshwar Goswami has termed the statement of former chief minister N Biren Singh regarding his hope of bringing a popular govt in Manipur soon as 'misleading the people'. Making a scathing attack on Singh, the MPCC vice-president accused him of repeatedly misleading the people and distorting facts for political gain. Goswami made the remarks during a press conference on Sunday while defending the Congress against allegations made by BJP leaders regarding the imposition of Emergency in 1975. Referring to Singh's recent comment that a "popular govt will soon return to Manipur," Goswami criticised the statement as hypocritical and disconnected from the prevailing crisis in the state. Goswami said the current chaos is the result of the BJP-led administration's failure to ensure peace, governance and unity. He also defended the national Emergency declared by the then Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977, calling it a constitutional decision taken under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution. The MPCC vice-president also reminded that this was the third national Emergency after the one imposed in 1962 during the India-China war and the first internal emergency declared in 1975 due to grave threats to national security, internal stability and economic crisis. Goswami argued that the emergency was declared under constitutional provisions with due process and was justified in the context of the times, unlike the present situation where, according to him, the Centre has failed to respond adequately to one of the worst humanitarian crises in Manipur's recent history. Without sparing the central BJP leadership, Goswami also accused PM Narendra Modi of lacking empathy and compassion. "While Manipur bleeds, the Prime Minister finds time to travel around the world," he said. Further, Goswami accused the Union home minister Amit Shah of lying to the public, regarding the promises of peace and reconciliation in Manipur. "Amit Shah came to Manipur and left with a promise that peace will return within 15 days. It's been more than 2 years now. Where is his promise?" he questioned. Goswami asked the people to see through the alleged falsehoods of the BJP and urged collective efforts to restore democracy, unity, and a government that genuinely represents the people's will.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Congress alleges rigging in Haryana Assistant Professor recruitment exams; seeks re-conduct and judicial probe
Alleging large-scale rigging and irregularities in the recruitment process for Assistant Professors in various subjects in Haryana, Congress Rajya Sabha member Randeep Surjewala has demanded that the exams be conducted again in a transparent manner and judicial probe initiated into the matter. A delegation of candidates also submitted a memorandum to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his Delhi residence in this connection. Haryana CM media secretary Praveen Attrey denied the allegations as 'baseless' saying that Mr. Surjewala had made similar accusations over half-a-dozen times since the BJP first came to power in 2014 and was 'frustrated' over the people voting the saffron party to the power for the third time in a row expressing faith in its policies. Mr. Surjewala, at a press conference in Hisar, alleged rigging in the exam for the recruitment of Assistant Professor (Geography) saying that 32 questions for the exam conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) were taken from the question paper for Geography's exam conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). Is it a coincidence or an experiment that HPSC Chairman Alok Verma has also been 'imported' from Bihar, said Mr. Surjewala adding that the recruitment process could be easily manipulated by hinting the candidates to prepare from the BPSC question paper. The HPSC had advertised 2,424 posts for Assistant Professors in 26 subjects in August last year and around 1.5 lakh youth had applied for it. The posts were advertised after a gap of around five years. Mr. Surjewala said seals of envelopes carrying question papers for Assistant Professor (Hindi) exam were found broken at six centres and the HPSC had to cancel the exam two days later following a backlash. The HPSC initially maintained that the process was not compromised, but later cancelled the exam, which was the 'biggest proof of scam', alleged Mr. Surjewala. Addressing the delegation of the candidates appearing for the Assistant Professor exam, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that 'paper leaks, copy-paste exams and scams have become synonymous with the recruitments conducted under the BJP government'. On this occasion, Mr. Hooda said that grave irregularities have come to light in the Assistant Professor recruitment exam conducted by the HPSC. Apart from History, serious discrepancies have also been exposed in subjects like Hindi, Zoology, Chemistry and Physics, he said, adding that the candidates had already submitted detailed written complaints to the Commission, demanding the cancellation of these examinations. The candidates informed Mr. Hooda that 24 questions in the History paper were copied verbatim from a question paper for the recruitment of Assistant Professors by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. The HPSC did not even bother to modify the questions, not in language nor in context. Mr. Attrey, however, accused the Congress of arbitrarily distributing jobs to its 'near and dear ones' during its ten-year rule, adding that the party was perturbed over change in system during the rule of the BJP, which had ensured jobs on merit.
