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Raj Thackeray
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj in Mumbai and both leaders are understood to have discussed seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming municipal corporation polls. Uddhav visited 'Shivtirth', the residence of Raj in Dadar in central Mumbai, the latest in a series of meetings this year between the once politically estranged cousins who have been warming up to each other in recent times amid signs of reconciliation and possible alliance between their parties. Although the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are yet to formally announce an alliance, the Thackeray cousins have given enough hints of an imminent tie-up for local body polls, especially the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Nashik, where the two outfits have pockets of influence. A Shiv Sena (UBT) leader disclosed that during the meeting, Uddhav and Raj are believed to have discussed ..
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said leaders alleging vote theft were doing so to provide solace to their workers for their defeat in polls instead of introspecting about their loss. Fadnavis's remark has come after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said that he had been talking about "vote theft" since 2016, and the Election Commission should have conducted a probe when both Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the BJP's Anurag Thakur alleged voter list fraud. Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis, in a veiled jibe, said, "Poet Ghalib once said 'Dil behelana ke liye khayal acha hain' (to console the heart, this thought is good). I want to say that they (leaders) are trying to provide solace to themselves and their workers by claiming there was a conspiracy behind their defeat in elecctions. But I want to tell them that they must introspect about their defeat, or they will never win." Asked about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's statement
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday downplayed the meeting between MNS president Raj Thackeray and CM Devendra Fadnavis, saying that maintaining communication is a tradition in the state. Talking to reporters in Wardha, Pawar said, Many leaders meet one another as well as with the chief minister, irrespective of whether they are in power or not. Maintaining communication with each other is the tradition of the state. There is no need to give a political angle to this meeting. Earlier, Raj Thackeray met Fadnavis at the latter's official bungalow Varsha' in south Mumbai, prompting speculation in the state's political circles. The meeting came after the first joint contest by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in the BEST Employees' Co-operative Credit Society elections ended in a humiliating defeat on Wednesday. The two parties' joint panel failed to win any of the 21 seats in the polls. Fadnavis had on .
The Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner to move the Bombay High Court with his plea accusing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray of hate speech and inciting violence against the north Indian community. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran asked Sunil Shukla, national president of the Uttar Bhartiya Vikas Sena, the reason of not moving the high court with his grievances. Is the Bombay High Court on vacation? the CJI asked, prompting Shukla's lawyer to withdraw the plea. The bench, without expressing any opinion on the merits, allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea and move the high court. Shukla's plea alleged the Maharashtra government and the police didn't respond to his repeated requests to register criminal cases against MNS cadres who have resorted to violence, threats to life and harassment against him, in the past. His advocacy for the rights of north Indians had made him a target for threats, harassment, an
The Congress, AAP and Patidar leaders in Gujarat have criticised Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over his comments about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. They have also demanded a ban on Thackeray's entry to Gujarat and an FIR against him. Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Thane district on Friday, the MNS chief said when migrants from Bihar were "beaten up and driven away" in Gujarat, it did not become an issue, but a minor incident in Maharashtra became a national issue. He also referred to Morarji Desai and Sardar Patel's alleged anti-Marathi stand after independence. Over the past few weeks, MNS workers have been aggressively demanding that those living in Maharashtra learn Marathi. They have also assaulted a few shopkeepers for failing to respond in Marathi. Gujarat Congress' newly appointed president Amit Chavda on Sunday said making a statement against Sardar Saheb was akin to throwing dust in front of the sun. If you
Thackeray is not just a brand, but an identity of Maharashtra, Marathi manoos and Hindu pride, but some people are trying to finish it off, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has said. In an interview with the Sena UBT's mouthpiece "Saamana", the former chief minister hit out at the Election Commission, saying it can freeze his party's symbol or give it to someone else, but it has no right to give away the party name coined by his grandfather Keshav Thackeray and father, founder Bal Thackeray. "Our deep roots in the Marathi soil go back several generations. The ties with Marathi manoos are strong since the time of my grandfather and Shiv Sena pramukh (Bal Thackeray). Now, I am there, Aaditya (Thackeray) is there, and even (MNS chief) Raj has come," he said. Thackeray means constant struggle, he asserted, in the first part of the interview with party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut published on Saturday. Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chi
Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said that "bullying" non-Marathi speakers in Maharashtra is wrong and the Devendra Fadnavis government will not tolerate such incidents. "Those who indulge in such bullying will be taught a lesson," Athawale said, asserting that the stance of leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on the issue is against Balasaheb Thackeray's vision. "I said that this is wrong. Knowing Marathi is fine. Telling them to learn Marathi is okay, but bullying them, slapping them, that is not right. Action has been taken by the police against those involved in such illegal actions, and "our government will not allow such bullying", the leader from Maharashtra said at a press conference here. He said that wrong politics is being done in the name of Marathi, noting that Mumbai is the financial capital of India and home to people from Rajasthan, Gujarat and many south India states. "It is not about opposing Hindi. The
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday denied making any remarks on forging an alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, and claimed that the words that he did not utter were wrongly attributed to him in a section of media. In a post on X, Thackeray said if he wants to make any political statement, he will do so by holding a press conference. He said the party organised a conclave for selected office-bearers at Igatpuri in Nashik on July 14 and 15, where he held an informal interaction with journalists. "When there was an informal chat with journalists, I was asked about the July 5 victory celebration rally in Mumbai. I said the event was to celebrate the victory of Marathi manoos and that it was not political. Then they (the journalists) asked what about the alliance (with the Shiv Sena-UBT). To this I responded, saying - Should I discuss the alliance matters with you now?" Thackeray said. "Words, which I did not utter, were .
Five Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters were detained on Saturday for the attack on investor Sushil Kedia's office in Worli here over the latter's social media post about not learning Marathi and his "kya karna hai bol" dare to Raj Thackeray. Hours after the attack, Kedia apologised for the social post claiming he had overreacted and also professed admiration for Thackeray. Kedia said he had uploaded the post in a wrong state of mind under duress and stress and wished to correct it unequivocally after realising his mistake. "Having come under pressure mentally from the violence inflicted on those who do not know Marathi, I ended up over-reacting," Kedia said. "I realise I must take back my over-reactions and withdraw," he asserted. In his apology video, Kedia said, "Even after living for 30 years in Mumbai, the level of proficiency and fluency that a native Marathi born can have, we will not be able to achieve and for avoiding any embarrassments or confusions, one has been ...
Unidentified persons raised slogans supporting MNS chief Raj Thackeray and vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in Worli area of Mumbai on Saturday, police said. Kedia had challenged Raj Thackeray and asserted that he would not learn Marathi. He had approached the police after he was threatened over his post on X handle. Some individuals reached Kedia's office in the morning and threw stones, a police official said. The attackers were raising slogans in support of Marathi and praising Raj Thackeray, he said. "I don't know Marathi properly even after living for 30 years in Mumbai & with your gross misconduct I have made it a resolve that until such people as you are allowed to pretend to be taking care of Marathi Manus I take pratigya I won't learn Marathi. Kya karna hai bol?" Kedia had posted on X. Accordingly, police had provided adequate security to Kedia's office, situated at Century Bazar.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing on its plea over the contentious Shiv Sena symbol in wake of the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran which agreed to list it on July 14. The counsel for the Shiv Sena (UBT) informed the bench that local body polls were likely to be notified soon in the state. The counsel appearing for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction said a similar request was made on May 7 before a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, also hearing the symbol row matter, and it was rejected. The Shiv Sena (UBT) counsel argued that Justice Kant-led bench had said the matter could be mentioned during the top court's partial court working days. He argued the matter raised the "question of peoples' choice". He said the plea seeks an interim arrangement similar to the one directed by the apex court in the Nationalist Congress P
Days after the Maharashtra government withdrew orders on three-language policy in schools, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said they will hold a rally on July 5 to observe it as "Marathi Vijay Diwas". He also asked the BJP-led Mahayuti government to stop misleading people of the state, in reference to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' claim that Uddhav Thackeray, as the then CM, had accepted recommendations of the Dr Raghunath Mashelkar committee to introduce a three-language policy from class 1 to 12 and set up a committee on the policy implementation. Raut urged the government to produce and publicly burn any government resolution (GR) allegedly issued under the previous Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. "Let them bring that GR, and burn it if it exists," Raut told reporters, slamming the BJP for "forcibly imposing" Hindi on Marathi-speaking students. "We have opposed the BJP government's resolution which was indirectly enforcing Hindi as the third ...
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said a final decision on the three-language formula will be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders, including litterateurs, language experts and political leaders. Fadnavis chaired a meeting at his official residence in south Mumbai late Monday night to deliberate on the issue. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, Minister of State Dr Pankaj Bhoyar and senior officials from the education department were present. The state government last week issued an amended order, stating Hindi will generally be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5. The government had maintained that Hindi would not be compulsory, but mandated consent of at least 20 students per grade in a school for studying any Indian language other than Hindi. During the meeting chaired by CM Fadnavis on Monday, detailed discussions were held on the implications of