09 January,2026 11:57 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Raj Thackeray. File Pic
In a scathing revelation during the second part of the joint interview in Saamana with Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray alleged a deep-rooted "strategic plot" to strip Mumbai of its wealth and territory.
He warned that the threat to Mumbai's autonomy is now more serious than during the Samyukta Maharashtra movement of the 1950s.
Raj Thackeray said that while earlier attempts focused on controlling Mumbai's wealth, the present agenda is to physically break off parts of the city.
Referring to historical opposition to Mumbai's inclusion in Maharashtra, he claimed that the number of vested interests eyeing the city has multiplied manifold.
Raj Thackeray raised concerns over large infrastructure projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, questioning their true intent.
He asked why airports are being planned near the Vadhavan Port close to the Gujarat border, suggesting an attempt to realign Maharashtra's economic geography.
Raj Thackeray alleged that the development of the Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Vadhavan Port is aimed at hollowing out Mumbai's core infrastructure.
He claimed the process of shifting cargo operations from Mumbai's existing airport has already begun and will eventually extend to all flights.
"The current Mumbai airport area is so vast that at least 50 Shivaji Parks could fit inside it," he said, alleging plans to sell the land once operations are moved.
Raj Thackeray claimed the ultimate goal is to divert Mumbai's economic wealth to a select class and eventually to Gujarat.
He concluded by framing the alleged plan not as development but as a calculated dismantling of Mumbai's assets to benefit specific business and real estate interests.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Friday claimed that the BJP has exhausted its ideological appeal and is now relying solely on financial power and administrative pressure.
"The BJP has reached a point of 'political saturation' and is now surviving on borrowed time," said the two leaders in an interview in Shiv Sena (UBT)'s mouthpiece Saamana.
In the second part of the interview, Uddhav Thackeray said the BJP's politics in Maharashtra has crossed its expiry date and accused it of masking decay using central agencies.
