Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took a subtle dig at Raj Thackeray after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo credited the BJP leader for helping him reunite with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray.
Fadnavis said late Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena founder and Uddhav's father, must have blessed him for reuniting the estranged cousins.
Slamming Uddhav, the chief minister claimed he did not speak a word about Marathi during the victory rally celebrating the language and instead chose to speak about how he was ousted from power. "He is speaking out of frustration, as they have nothing to show despite ruling the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for over 25 years," the CM said.
During the victory rally, Raj said there was no need for the Fadnavis government to scrap two GRs that made the Hindi language compulsory from the first standard onwards in schools across the state. He added that nobody has objection to teaching Hindi in schools from fifth onwards as is being done so far.
Taking a jab at the CM's move, the MNS chief said, "The credit for bringing us together goes to Devendra Fadnavis. What none of our well-wishers could achieve for so many years, was done by Fadnavis (through his government GRs on Hindi)." He added that the three-language formula imposed in the state was a precursor to the BJP government's plan to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.
The CM's remarks came after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Raj spoke for Marathi while Uddhav was speaking for power. Shinde added tha it was Uddhav, when he was chief minister, accepted the R A Mashelkar committee report recommending Hindi be made mandatory in state schools while the current government removed the word "mandatory".
Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane also slammed the Thackeray cousins on Saturday, calling their rally a "jihadi and anti-Hindu gathering" which is trying to divide the society and weaken Maharashtra. "The Worli meeting is aimed at dividing Hindus and Marathi people. It can be equated with the rallies of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), PFI or SIMI. It will cause the biggest damage to Hindus in the state," he added.