By IANS
Mumbai : Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray Saturday criticised his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, saying his campaign against north Indians in Mumbai was “spoiling the image” of Maharashtra and its people.
Speaking on the issue for the first time after clashes between Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and north Indians, Uddhav Thackeray said: “Through such acts, they are not only spoiling the image of Maharashtra but also of the Marathi manoos (Marathi person).”
He, however, did not name Raj Thackeray.
“People know who is duplicate and who is real. They very well know that Shiv Sena has been fighting for the rights of the Marathi manoos for the last 40 years,” he said at a function of the Shiv Sena affiliated labour unions in northern Mumbai.
However, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s son refused to speak to the media on the violence in Mumbai in recent days. All he said was that the violence was nothing but an attempt to divide the people of Maharashtra.
Uddhav Thackeray’s remarks came a day after the Sena chief sharply reacted to Raj Thackeray’s stance in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna.