Uddhav keeps doors open for MNS

Mumbai: Former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray gave a clear sign that he was open to an alliance with his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray – who is reportedly being wooed by the ruling Mahayuti constituents.

Addressing the much-anticipated 59th anniversary of the (undivided) party founded by the late Balasaheb Thackeray on this day in 1966, Uddhav declared that “we shall decide as per the desires of the Marathi people” on the much-debated issue of the two cousins joining hands.

“This has already scared many… But we shall decide as per what’s in the minds of the Marathi people,” declared Uddhav amidst a thunderous applause at the Shanmukhananda Hall on Thursday.

He warned that attempts were underway to erase the ‘Thackeray brand’ from Maharashtra politics but they would never succeed.

Mouthing a dialogue of actor Nana Patekar from the Hindi blockbuster ‘Prahaar’ (1991) – “Come on kill me”, Uddhav dared both Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Shinde and others attempting to finish off the Thackeray name to ‘come and kill me’ and he would teach a lesson to them.

“They are scared about Marathi people uniting to pose a challenge to Mumbai’s owner (Adani Group). To thwart that, they go and meet in hotels and other places. They worry what will happen to the ‘owner’ if Mumbai comes back to the Marathis… But we shall do what the people of the state want,” asserted Uddhav, keeping an open mind over the tie-up with MNS’ Raj Thackeray.

Training guns at the PM, central ministers Amit Shah or Rajnath Singh, Uddhav said that “the country needs a PM and a Home Minister… as this PM (Modi) and HM (Shah) are only for their party”.

“When we united as the INDIA bloc, you compared us with the Indian Mujahideen. Didn’t you feel ashamed…? What are you… You have made enemies within and outside India. When you wanted to inform the world on Operation Sindoor, why did you fall back on the Opposition MPs. But we stood solidly behind you during a national crisis, we are ready to make any sacrifices for the country,” he said.

He pointed that when (US President) Donald Trump stopped the war, Modi and Shah lost their voice, and asked where the (Pahalgam) terrorists fled after committing the massacre of tourists, ‘whether in the sky or the netherworld’, and how they managed to reach there in the first place.

Targeting Shinde, he said that there’s a ‘chor bazaar’ which stole the (undivided) Shiv Sena party, its symbol and his father (Balasaheb), yet they could not destroy the party built with the blood of Shiv Sainiks.