‘Thank You For Giving Me Credit’ Devendra Fadnavis After Raj Thackeray Credit Him For Reunion

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday launched a sharp counter-attack on the newly united Thackeray cousins, mockingly thanking MNS chief Raj Thackeray for crediting him with their reunion and dismissing their joint rally as a “rudali” (professional mourner) speech.

The war of words erupted after Raj Thackeray, during a “victory” rally with his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, sarcastically “thanked” Fadnavis for uniting them against his government’s policies.

Responding to the jibe, Fadnavis turned the tables with his own brand of sarcasm. “I thank Raj Thackeray for giving me the credit for reuniting the brothers. Somewhere, I must have received the blessings of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said.

He then went on to slam the content of the rally, which was organised to celebrate the state government’s recent rollback of a controversial resolution mandating Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state-run schools.

“I was told it was supposed to be a ‘vijay’ (victory) rally, but it turned out to be a ‘rudali’ speech,” Fadnavis said, using a term for women hired to mourn at funerals. He took a pointed dig at Uddhav Thackeray’s address, saying, “Without uttering a single word about Marathi, the speech revolved around how their government was toppled and how they wanted to return to power. This was not a Vijay Utsav but a ‘rudali’ darshan.”

The Chief Minister also defended his government’s record, accusing the Shiv Sena (UBT) of failing to deliver development in Mumbai despite controlling the civic body for 25 years. “In contrast, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have transformed Mumbai. We gave Marathi people their rightful homes in BDD chawls, Abhyudaya Nagar, and Patra chawls. That is what makes them jealous,” he asserted.

Reaffirming his party’s commitment to its core vote base, Fadnavis declared, “We are Marathi, and we are proud of it. We are Hindutvawadi, and we are proud to be Hindu.”