Choosing to respond with sarcasm after the Thackeray cousins’ ‘Voice of Marathi’ rally on Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said Bal Thackeray must be showering him with blessings for bringing them together. The BJP leader’s statement was a reference to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s remark at the event that, by bringing the cousins together, Mr Fadnavis had done what Bal Thackeray and many others could not.

Mr Fadnavis did not spare Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) president Uddhav Thackeray either, remarking that his speech at the rally was less about Marathi and more about how the government led by him was toppled after a rebellion in 2022. “I was told it was supposed to be a ‘vijay’ (victory) rally, but it turned out to be a ‘rudali’ (mourning) speech,” he said.

The rally – organised to celebrate the Maharashtra government withdrawing orders on the implementation of the three-language policy in the state, which the opposition had termed ‘Hindi imposition’. saw Uddhav and Raj Thackeray sharing a stage at a political event for the first time since they had a falling out in 2005.

In a speech in Marathi after the cousins hugged and held each other’s hands aloft, Raj Thackeray said, “What Bal Thackeray could not do, what many others could not do, Devendra Fadnavis did – bring us together… You may have power in the Vidhan Bhawan, we have power on the roads,”

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“The Maharashtra government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to the unity shown by the Marathi people. Try to touch Maharashtra and see what happens,” he added.

Speaking after the MNS chief, Uddhav Thackeray said the “distance” between them had been removed. Mr Thackeray also went on to hit out at the BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion led to a split in the Shiv Sena and the fall of his government, terming him a traitor and accusing him of disrespecting Marathi.

Asked about the event later on Saturday. Mr Fadnavis said Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, who was Uddhav Thackeray’s father and Raj Thackeray’s uncle, must be giving him his blessings.

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“I am grateful to Raj Thackeray that he gave me credit for bringing them together. Balasaheb Thackeray must be showering me with blessings,” he said.

“I was told it would be a victory rally, but it turned out to be a ‘rudali’ (mourners’) speech instead. Instead of talking about Marathi, he (Uddhav Thackeray) kept speaking about how his government fell and blaming other people. It was like getting a ‘rudali darshan’ (witnessing mourning),” the chief minister mocked.

Mr Fadnavis said the Shiv Sena had control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for 25 years, but achieved nothing. “The BJP, under PM Narendra Modi, has changed the face of Mumbai and the Marathi ‘manoos’ (people) are with us. We have worked for the rights of the Marathi people,” he said.