Uddhav mocks Raj over arrest drama

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday taunted Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray for ‘making a scene of arrest’ without taking his name.

“There is no need to tell anyone what Balasaheb [Thackeray] did for the Marathi speaking people. When it came to go behind the bars over the issue of border dispute with Karnataka, he never sought bail. Balasaheb spent three months in the jail but never tried to get out of it,” Uddhav said.

He was speaking at a function at Shiv Sena Bhavan where he released a book on Thackeray’s days in jail — Gajaadil Divas (Days when I was behind the bar). The book is a collection of the dairies, Thackeray penned when he was in Pune’s Yerwada jail in February 1969.

Uddhav’s remarks were targeted at Raj who also faced jail term on several occasions last year for agitations over the issue of Marathi but every time applied for bail. But when asked whether the remarks were meant for Raj, Uddhav said, “Today is an auspicious day, say something good.”

Uddhav revealed that he also drew cartoons for Sena’s first mouthpiece ‘Marmik’ during 1978-82. “Today, I feel sad that I concentrated on photography and gave up the cartoons,” he said.

He also regretted that there are very few good cartoonists today. “Marmik was the origin of Shiv Sena’s formation. Balasaheb used to attack his opponents through his cartoons. Today, Marmik is in dire need of good cartoonists,” he said.

When asked if he thought the publication would not have faced shortage of good cartoonist if Raj not left ‘Marmik’, Uddhav said, “Leave it.”