Mumbai, Correspondent
BJP leader Prasad Lad has thrown a direct challenge at the Thackeray brothers, saying, “Let not just two, but even four brothers come together. Bring in nephews and cousins too. Let there be a grand battle—we are ready for the fight.”
This statement comes in the wake of the Marathi Vijay Melava, which witnessed Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray sharing the same stage after nearly 19 years. While Raj refrained from making any political comments during the event, Uddhav hinted strongly at a potential alliance by saying, “Now that we’re together, we’ll stay together. Anyone who tries to push us down, we’ll push them out.”
Commenting on this possible alliance, Prasad Lad said there was a noticeable difference in the tone of both leaders’ speeches. “What did Uddhav Thackeray say about Marathi? Nothing. He only spoke about betrayal, daggers, and traitors. There was no mention of Marathi pride,” he criticized.
Lad emphasized that the Bharatiya Janata Party is a national party and is prepared to take on any alliance or front. He also questioned Uddhav’s sincerity in teaming up with Raj, stating, “Uddhav has insulted Raj on many occasions in the past. Is he now willing to apologize for that?”
Speaking about the Marathi language issue, Lad said, “We are all proud of being Marathi. Everyone living in Maharashtra should know Marathi—there’s no disagreement there. But using violence against someone just because they don’t speak Marathi is completely unacceptable.”
This political exchange has further heated up the already intense atmosphere in Maharashtra’s political landscape, especially as speculations of a Thackeray-Thackeray alliance gather momentum.
000
