Won’t let BJP and Adani take away Mumbai, say Thackeray cousins

Shiv Sena (UBT) main Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirma Sena person Raj Thackeray connected Sunday (January 11, 2025) launched a crisp onslaught connected the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of pursuing divisive authorities and systematically “isolating” Mumbai’s Marathi Manoos. They besides accused the nationalist enactment of facilitating onshore drawback to payment Adani Group and conspiring to “separate Mumbai from Maharashtra and bring it person to Gujarat”. 

Mr. Raj Thackeray presented maps of India and Maharashtra showing the enlargement of Adani Group projects between 2014 and 2025, and asked however 1 industrialist was being favoured successful the state and the State. “The prices of cement person accrued rapidly. Are we adjacent paying attraction to that? We are stuck successful Hindu-Marathi,” said Mr. Raj Thackeray, adding that Mumbai was being destroyed slowly.

Mr. Uddhav Thackeray alleged the usage of cement manufactured by the Adani Group for projects successful the metropolis had contributed to pollution, portion the BJP built the communicative of “Hindu-Muslims, Hindu-Marathi Mayor”. He besides slammed the BJP for disturbing the societal cloth of Maharashtra and wanting to power the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to execute their program of looting Mumbai. 

He listed projects and onshore parcels handed to Adani implicit the past 10 years, including the Tarapur Nuclear Power Project, the Tungareshwar Sanctuary land, 24 acres for Bandra Reclamation Redevelopment Project, and the Group’s cement factories astatine Titwala, Mohane, Ambivali and Shahad, among others. 

“Adani has received 124 acres of Motilal Nagar redevelopment task worthy ₹36,000 crore, a declaration worthy ₹13,888 crore to instal astute energy meters successful Maharashtra, 92 acres for a information centre successful Airoli, RTO onshore successful Andheri West, 20 acres of Kurla Mother Dairy land, and assorted different projects,” helium alleged. 

Citing an example, Mr. Raj Thackeray said the BJP was conspiring to power onshore successful Mumbai, alleging it aims to dilatory displacement operations of the Mumbai airdrome to Navi Mumbai and merchantability the airdrome onshore adjacent Dharavi. “Vadhwan larboard is adjacent Gujarat, truthful they are taking power of Palghar territory and a portion of Thane. Why are we stuck successful caste and religion?” 

The Thackeray cousins were speaking up of the municipal corp elections successful assorted cities, including Mumbai, scheduled connected January 15. The BMC elections are considered important for the Thackeray cousins, and for the archetypal clip successful the 2 decades, they person forged an alliance.

The elections volition besides beryllium the archetypal clip Mr. Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena volition contest without an confederation with the BJP and beryllium its entreaty with voters successful the Mumbai civic body, which has 227 seats. 

Hindu, Muslim, and Marathi Manoos

 During the nationalist gathering astatine Shivaji Park successful Maharashtra’s Mumbai, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the BJP didn’t privation the Hindutavadi Shiv Sena arsenic their state due to the fact that the enactment won’t fto them seizure and power the BMC. “They can judge a concern with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who erstwhile raised the slogan of “Sangh mukt Bharat” and [Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister] Chandrababu Naidu but not us,” said Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, adding the BJP is nary much a “country-first party, but a corruption-first, rape-first party” that instigates the bigger assemblage and provokes the different smaller communities to consolidate votes and triumph elections. 

He besides challenged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to springiness 1 code without speaking connected the “Hindu-Muslim” relations.

Meanwhile, his relative Mr. Raj Thackeray besides questioned the voters. “Who is Marathi Manoos, the 1 who is bought with wealth easily? What is your value? These whitethorn beryllium the past elections for the beingness of Marathi Manoos.”

He besides slammed Tamil Nadu BJP person K. Annamalai and accused the enactment of creating divisions betwixt the Marathi assemblage and different communities, including the southbound Indian and Jain-Marwadi people. “See however they instigated radical successful the sanction of a pigeon. They privation you to isolate and abstracted from others,” said Thackeray, referring to the caller enactment implicit the prohibition connected feeding pigeons successful the superior city.  

The Shiv Sena was successful powerfulness successful BMC for 25 consecutive years, from 1997 to 2022, aft which elections are being held for the archetypal time.

Worli legislator Aaditya Thackeray showed photos of the Coastal Road project, including those of its geo-technical survey, inauguration, stone-laying ceremony, and the passageway boring machine, and said the enactment was present trying to instrumentality recognition for the project. “The BJP astatine the clip had boycotted the inauguration programme. Who boycotts their ain government’s programme? This instrumentality was brought successful our tenure. We are not against anyone but warring for Maharashtra,” said Mr. Aaditya.

Meanwhile, NCP-SP person Jayant Patil announced that Mumbai’s politician volition beryllium decided by the Thackeray cousins and appealed to radical to ballot for them, saying, “Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who looted Surat 300 years ago, idiosyncratic is trying to instrumentality its revenge.”