Uddhav Thackeray, Raj’s mega rally LIVE: Brothers hug in rare moment amid sounds of bell, a fist pump at Worli dome

Estranged brother Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray shared an iconic moment on Saturday (July 5). Divided by politics but united over the Marathi pride, the two cousins shared a hug for the first time in 20 years. The rare spectacle was witnessed during a joint rally in Worli.

The chiefs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) came together to celebrat their “victory” after the Maharashtra government scrapped two Government Resolutions (GRs) that sought to introduce Hindi as the third language for students of Classes 1 to 5 studying in English and Marathi medium schools in the state.

NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad and many other political leaders were also present at the joint rally at Worli Dome in Mumbai on Saturday.

Uddhav says he and Raj Thackeray will capture power

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday that he and Raj Thackeray together “will capture power in Mumbai civic body and Maharashtra.” He said, “We have come together to stay together.”

The former Maharashtra CM said that ever since the announcement of this Mumbai programme, everyone was "eagerly" waiting for his and Raj Thackeray's speech. He hailed Raj Thackeray's vocal skills and stated that he has always delivered an "outstanding" speech, so there is no need for him to speak.

Hitting out at the Centre and Maharashtra government, Uddhav Thackeray questioned what the government has done in its tenure of 11 years for Maharashtra and Mumbai, while referring to him being asked what the Shiv Sena (UBT) has done for Mumbai being in the BMC.

Uddhav alleged that the Centre has pushed Mumbai's important establishments to Gujarat, and these are all attempts to break the "backbone" of Maharashtra.

‘Fadnavis did what Balasaheb Thackeray could not do’

Addressing a mass gathering at Worli Dome on Saturday, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis managed to do what Balasaheb Thackeray could not – “bring myself and Uddhav together.”

Raj Thackeray said, “I had said in one of my interviews that my Maharashtra is bigger than any politics and fight. Today, after 20 years, Uddhav and I have come together. What Balasaheb could not do, Devendra Fadnavis did it... The work of bringing both of us together.”

The MNS chief added, “The Maharashtra Government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to the strong unity shown by Marathi people. This decision was a precursor to the plan of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra.”

Marathi cause

On the language row, Raj Thackeray said, “I don’t have anything against Hindi, no language is bad. It takes a lot of effort to build a language. We Marathi people ruled over a lot of states during the Maratha Empire, but we never enforced Marathi on those parts. They started with the experiment of imposing Hindi over us and were trying to test if we would not have opposed it, they would have gone upto making Mumbai separate from Maharashtra.”

"Be it Gujarati or anyone else here, must know Marathi, but there is no need to beat people for that if they don’t speak Marathi. But if someone shows useless drama, you must hit below their eardrums. I tell you one more thing: if you beat someone, don’t make a video of the incident. Let the person beaten up tell that he has been beaten up, you don’t need to tell everyone that you have beaten someone," he was quoted by ANI as saying.

‘Marathi Manush’

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said on Saturday that the two prominent leaders of the Thackeray family will give direction to the Marathi Manush.

“It is like a festival for all of us in Maharashtra that two prominent leaders of the Thackeray family, who separated due to their political ideologies, are finally coming together to share a stage after 20 years,” Raut said.

He added, "This has been our wish throughout that we should fight those who are against the people of Maharashtra. By coming together today, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will definitely give direction to the Marathi Manush."