Mumbai, October 27: In a repartee to his nephew and rival party chief Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray took the verbal back-and-forth between them to level two, referring to his kin as shemdya (snotty boy).
He expressed his feelings towards the rival party in a signed statement in reply to Raj’s tirade against the Sena on Monday.
After MNS chief Raj Thackeray asked his uncle to make it clear whether the decision to make son Uddhav the executive president was a good choice, the senior Thackeray has reacted to it in his characteristic style.
Raj a liar
Balasaheb’s letter states that he has video recordings of Raj himself announcing Uddhav as the executive president and that his partymen will broadcast it during the election rallies to expose Raj for the liar that he is.
The MNS chief had earlier said that even if he had agreed to Uddhav being the executive president, the ultimate decision rested with Balasaheb, who should decide whether it was right or wrong.
Raj, in the same speech, said that he didn’t even have the permission to select a shakha pramukh (branch head), let alone the executive president.
He further stated that Raj even agreed it was his decision to make Uddhav the executive president. The elder Thackeray replied that Raj’s lie has been caught and the Marathi manoos will take action on it.
The Sena supremo mixed his tirade with some sentimentality, saying he hadn’t expected someone whom he had showered his love on to turn against him.
The statement reads, “I, in my wildest dreams, could never believe that the person who grew up in my arms, who ate from my hands, sat on my shoulders, and who I would take to the terrace of Matoshree [Balasaheb’s residence] to see airplanes, would talk against me and that too at a public rally.”
The elder Thackeray said that the party formed by Raj is founded on the Sena’s ideology and that all MNS followers abide by it.
Raj had commented earlier that Sena comprises only the outer cover of the coconut (karvantya).
To this, Balasaheb riposted that the karvantyas are so strong that if the MNS leaders try to dig their teeth in it, they would break, but Sena would remain undaunted.
Concluding his letter, Balasaheb assumed a disappointed tone, saying he hadn’t expected Raj to mouth a diatribe against him, but now that he had, the Sena had no choice but to hit back.
-Agencies