‘Future going to be good for us’: Uddhav ‘extremely glad’ on Raj’s visit to Matoshree

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he was ‘extremely glad’ after his cousin Raj Thackeray visited Matoshree to wish him on his 65th birthday, and expressed hopes that the future will be good for the two brothers.

“I am extremely glad; we have met after several years. The future is going to be good for us. We met at the house where we grew up,” said Uddhav, while speaking at a press conference.

Raj drives to Matoshree

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday drove to Matoshree, the residence of the Thackeray family in Mumbai’s Bandra, from his residence Shivteerth in Dadar to meet his cousin Uddhav. He was accompanied by MNS leaders Bala Nandgaonkar and Nitin Sardesai.

During the visit, Raj and Uddhav posed for a photograph with a portrait of Bal Thackeray in the background. Raj later shared the photograph on his ‘X’ handle (formerly known as Twitter) and said: “On the occasion of my elder brother and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s birthday, I visited Matoshree, the residence of Bal Thackeray, to extend my wishes.”

Notably, Raj had last visited Matoshree in 2012 following the death of Bal Thackeray.

Reconciliation between Raj, Uddhav

Raj had left the undivided Shiv Sena in 2006 to form the MNS. However, it seems that the two are trying to reduce the political and personal distances between them. On July 5, the two had also participated in the victory rally in protest against the Maharashtra government’s move to introduce Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools.

During the rally, Uddhav had said that they “have come together to remain together”, adding that they will “together capture power in the Mumbai civic body and Maharashtra.” Meanwhile, Raj had attacked the Maharashtra government over the “imposition of Hindi”, calling it an “unnecessary issue” and there was no need to impose it.

“The Maharashtra Government reversed the decision on the three-language formula due to the strong unity shown by Marathi people. This decision was a precursor to the plan of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra,” he had said.