After two decades, the estranged Thackeray cousins -- Uddhav and Raj -- will share public stage and jointly hold a "mega victory gathering" on Saturday in Mumbai to celebrate the Maharashtra government's roll back of the three-language policy in primary schools
Sharad Pawar. File Pic
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar will not take part in the event being organised by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray in Worli on Saturday to mark "victory" in the Hindi "imposition" and three-language policy issues, reported news agency PTI.
Speaking to PTI on Friday, NCP (SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule said Pawar will be in Pune on Saturday.
Sule said she and MLA Jitendra Awhad will take part.
The opposition stalwart had earlier told reporters he has events scheduled in Pune and would, therefore, not attend the Worli event.
"Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Bala Nandgaonkar called me and invited me to the rally," state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil told PTI.
Congress sources, meanwhile, told PTI Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut had invited the party's state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal for the event but the latter will not participate due to the "inconsistent" political stand of MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
Sakpal, however, had made it clear earlier that the Congress supports the opposition to Hindi as third language from Class I in Marathi and English medium schools in the state.
The Devendra Fadnavis government recently withdrew two GRs on Hindi and three-language policy amid strident protests by the opposition, especially Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP).
After two decades, the estranged Thackeray cousins -- Uddhav and Raj -- will share public stage and jointly hold a "mega victory gathering" on Saturday in Mumbai to celebrate the Maharashtra government's roll back of the three-language policy in primary schools.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, whose parties are known to aggressively push the cause of Marathi identity and language, are coming together one one stage just ahead of the local body polls, including the cash rich Mumbai civic corporation.
The last time the two cousins shared the stage was during the election campaign of Malvan assembly bypoll in 2005 after former chief minister Narayan Rane had quit the undivided Shiv Sena. Raj Thackeray quit the Shiv Sena shortly in the same year and floated the MNS in 2006.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have jointly organised the "victory" gathering at the NSCI Dome in central Mumbai's Worli, which also happens to be in the assembly constituency of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.
The two parties have urged other political outfits who have protested against making Hindi "compulsory" in primary schools, and also people from the field of literature, art to participate in the gathering.
(With inputs from PTI)
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