Raj Thackeray makes much noise about new enemy Narendra Modi

Seven years after he electrified the city promising change in his speech at Shivaji Park Raj Thackeray returned there for his debut Gudi Padwa rally in the hopes of reviving his now beleaguered party But while the MNS chiefrsquos speech disappointingly lacked any new ideas he certainly picked out a new enemy ndash his onetime favourite Narendra Modi Thackeray invoked the ghost of his uncle and mentor Bal Thackeray and recounted all that he had done for the Marathi manoosMNS chief Raj Thackeray at Shivaji Park PicRane AshishHe began his speech addressing the recent controversy over the noise restrictions for the rally ldquoI am speaking after a long time on my home pitch so I will start playing now I asked the government to let me hold a rally on Gudi Padwa Everyone gave permission then someone went to court and I was told noise shouldnrsquot be above 50 decibels Outside the park the traffic noise is above 100 decibelsrdquoIt didnrsquot take long for him to take a dig at longtime rival Shiv Sena He pointed out that the Sena had suddenly become more active after he announced his Padwa rally ldquoThe moment the announcement was made for the Padwa rally many other parties realised that there are days to be celebrated in Maharashtra and Shiv Sena started up putting flags too So the rally is ours and they are putting up their flags This is what happens when people lack selfconfidencerdquo he saidBut he said he didnrsquot mind seeing the Senarsquos saffron flags beside MNS flags ldquoWhen I see the Sena flag around my rally I consider it a blessing from Balasaheb mdash he is telling me lsquoI am with yoursquordquoOn MNSrsquo impactldquoThey say MNS leaves its campaigns I say name one that we left in the middle Itrsquos because of our efforts that Marathi name plates are seen outside every shop now and Marathi has been included as a language by mobile operators Itrsquos because of us that railway examinations are being conducted in the local language Had we not taken up the toll issue 65 toll nakas would not have shut down When I could do that without being in power I can shut them all just give me powerrdquoInstead he attempted to turn the table on his detractors and attacked the Sena and BJP for leaving their campaigns midway ldquoWhat happened to Ram Mandir What happened to the Jaitapur nuclear plant taken up by Sena They are in power and still keep complaining they have no importance If you have no value then leave the governmentrdquoOn ModiHe also took a potshot at the ruling alliancersquos stand against Pakistan particularly Prime Minister Modirsquos brand of IndoPak relations ldquoIf you oppose Pakistan then why is Samjhauta Express still alive Modi visits the Pakistan PM on his birthday and then comes back and abuses the samerdquoMNS chief Raj Thackeray thanks supporters at the rally PicRane AshishThackeray also admitted that he was once full of praise for Modi and explained why he was speaking against him now ldquoWhen people ask me why I was speaking good about Modi earlier and now am badmouthing him I point out media is doing the same I did visit Gujarat and had then said that the kind of development he did in Gujarat is good but still Maharashtra is number one It was I who had first said that Modi is made for the PMrsquos post when his own party men werenrsquot in his favourrdquo ldquoBut after becoming PM you Modi have changed You are doing the same thing that Congress was doing so whatrsquos the difference between you and them So many foreign visits what happened to bringing acche din in 100 days The jewellers association came to me protesting against the Modi government imposing excise duty on them He Modi had opposed the same thing when Congress had proposed it After meeting me they went out and said lsquoEk hi bhool kamal ka phoolrsquordquoBharat Mata rowThackeray also weighed in on the Bharat Mata row and said it was a nonissue being propagated by the RSS ldquoNow the issue of Bharat Mata ki Jai is being brought up but let me ask you before this when was the last time you said it We donrsquot use it in our daily life To bring up this issue they have used the Owaisi brothers who are financed by themrdquo At the same time the firebrand politician also made it clear what his personal stand on the matter was ldquoHe AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said he wonrsquot say Bharat Mata ki Jai even if a knife is put to his throat Come to Maharashtra I will show yourdquoA huge crowd turned out for the rallyPicAjinkya SawantHe then took a swipe at CM Devendra Fadnavis who said those who donrsquot chant the slogan donrsquot deserve to live in India ldquoBefore saying all this do something for the state and country and we will all proudly say Bharat Mata ki JairdquoHe further added ldquoWhy arenrsquot Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh residing in Mumbai being thrown out Who are the true antinationals The corrupt who gave away river water to private companies because of whom Maharashtra is facing drought today they are the real antinationalsrdquoMarathwada rowThackeray said the Marathwada statehood row is a planned strategy but itrsquos not to be taken as a joke ldquoThey say Vidarbha has faced injustice it gave rise to three CMs and even the present CM is from there So when all these people didnrsquot do anything for Vidarbha how can you blame Maharashtra Shivaji is from Pune and Jijamata is from Buldhana in Vidarbha How can you separate son and mother After Vidarbha they are demanding separate Marathwada If CM and ministers should vacate chairs of they canrsquot develop that area If RSS wants division then divide Gujarat but there they can do nothingrdquoldquoPlaces where therersquos no water only to please ministers sugar factories are constructed sugarcane is being harvested and beer factories are coming up Farmers arent getting water but ministersrsquo fields are getting water in abundance Farmers were dying before and they are dying nowrdquoSelective diversityThackeray also explained the diversity symbolised in the lsquorainbowrsquo colours of the MNS flag ldquoSome students asked me what is my opinion on Hindutva I told them I am a Hindu and in my flag the saffron is for Hinduism blue for Dalits and the green is for APJ Abdul Kalam and AR Rahman not for the residents of Behrampada Bhiwandi and Bhendi Bazaarrdquo On his antioutsider policy he claimed he wanted people to burn new auto rickshaws belonging to nonMaharastrians so that the corruption behind the grant of licences comes to the fore He also targeted the Gujarati community and said Gujaratis in Mumbai had helped their native state after the Bhuj earthquake but didnt help Maharashtra after the during Latur quake