Uddhav Thackeray rally: Addressing the “victory” rally in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray shared the political stage with brother, Raj Thackeray after over 20 years. Addressing the gathering, Thackeray fiercely attacked the Fadnavis government and said, “Yes, we are goons if we have to do hooliganism for justice.”
This came after the criticism they faced when their party workers displayed acts of violence, threatening and slapping hawkers for not speaking Marathi. The language row came when the Maharashtra government issued an order in April to make Hindi as the compulsory third language for students in their primary classes. It was met with large opposition and political pressure, which led to a withdrawal, months later in June.
United on linguistic identity
Thackeray on Saturday asserted that he and his cousin Raj Thackeray have “come together to stay together”. Uddhav and Raj shared the public stage and hosted a victory gathering, titled ‘Awaj Marathicha’, to celebrate the rollback of two GRs issued earlier by the government introducing Hindi as a third language from class 1 in state schools. The Sena (UBT) chief also said, “We won’t let the government impose Hindi on us”.
VIDEO | Mumbai: Addressing a joint victory gathering with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray (@uddhavthackeray), titled 'Awaj Marathicha', MNS chief Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) says, “CM Fadnavis managed to do what Balasaheb Thackeray could not – bring myself and Uddhav… pic.twitter.com/AasFNDNpfB
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 5, 2025
Maharashtra government claps back
Hitting out at Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena over their joint rally held in Mumbai on Saturday, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar termed it as a “public appeasement” campaign for elections rather than an event organised for language.
The Maharashtra minister said that the “so-called family get together” was just for the sake of “public appeasement” and there is no “love language” involved between them.
Additionally, Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane has hit out at the Thackeray cousins over their joint rally in Mumbai, terming it as a “jihadi and anti-Hindu gathering” aimed at dividing society and weakening the state.
Three-language row
A disturbing video that went viral hours ahead of this rally, where Former MP Rajan Vichare allegedly summoned a trader to his Thane office. He was reportedly slapped and then forced to apologise for not speaking in Marathi.