'It was not our intention to hurt anyone's sentiments.'
MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges the state government's three-language formula is a precursor to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, speaking at a rally with Uddhav Thackeray.
Thackeray said that the MNS will contest more seats than any other party.
"We know what they (MNS) are doing. They do not have any more real issues to take to the people and that is why they are resorting to such acts," Uddhav told reporters.
Fadnavis questioned the people's perception of Indian languages and English.
Speculations about a rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray are gathering steam, but leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) acknowledge that personal ties and organisational synergy are significant hurdles that need to be overcome. While both parties have expressed a willingness to put aside "trivial issues" and unite, the prospect of a reunion is complex, involving family dynamics, ideological differences, and the potential for internal conflicts. The reunion buzz has come at a time when both parties are experiencing a political nadir, with the Sena (UBT) winning 20 seats and the MNS drawing a blank in the 2024 assembly polls. The prospect of the two cousins coming together has enthused supporters of both parties, but it might not be the case with a section of cadres and party leaders. Key concerns include seat-sharing agreements, potential conflicts in areas with strong bases for both parties, and ideological differences.
With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Reacting to Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam's dare to the Thackerays to move around without security, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray blamed Shiv Sena for "making Nirupam big".
Ministers will not be allowed to hold official meetings and meet visitors in the legislature complex during the session. They will have to conduct their official briefings and meetings in Mantralaya, the state secretariat, he said.
Shiv Sena activists on Friday attacked a college in suburban Mumbai as the authorities did not allow around 70 students to appear for the exams after declaring them as ineligible, the police said.
Prakash Mahajan, brother of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, has been appointed Shiv Sena spokesperson and a deputy leader.
Facing mounting opposition to the introduction of Hindi language in Maharashtra schools from classes 1 to 5, the state cabinet on Sunday decided to withdraw two GRs (government orders) on the implementation of the three-language policy.
In an attack on the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has alleged that the party was more interested in 'Marathi votes' rather than the 'Marathi manoos'. Addressing an election rally in Pune on Tuesday night, Thackeray said the Shiv Sena had stopped fighting for the rights of Marathi man and it was the MNS which had taken up the cudgels to fight injustice, to which the 'Bhoomiputras' were subjected to.
Top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including L K Advani, spoke to Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray after which the party, upset over arch-rival Maharashta Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's visit to BJP office, said it will attend the NDA rally in Delhi on Wednesday.
Large number of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers clashed on Thursday outside the Old Custom House in South Mumbai when respective party candidates Arvind Sawant and Aditya Shirodkar reached there to file their nominations.
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
Manoj Jarange's protest for Maratha quota at Mumbai's Azad Maidan enters its third day. Jarange is demanding 10% quota for Marathas and recognition as Kunbis. Maharashtra ministers suggest the community avail the existing EWS quota.
Thackeray said there was no certainty that people will vote for the ruling alliance even after schemes like the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
Wagging its tail non-stop, the dog with a red collar refused to leave Tata's side, literally clinging to the spot next to the casket.
Unidentified persons vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in Mumbai after he challenged MNS chief Raj Thackeray to make him learn Marathi.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned against violence and linguistic chauvinism related to the Marathi language, emphasizing constructive promotion and legal action against those taking the law into their own hands.
Ruling out merger with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray Tuesday said he had no intention of aligning with anybody.
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is back, in an implicit admission that he erred in his political judgement. A few years ago, Thackeray had annointed his son Uddhav as the party's executive president bypassing his cousin Raj, who went on to form the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Incidentally, the MNS spoiled the prospects of the Shiv Sena in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Close on the heels of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena demanding prime time slots for Marathi movies in theatres, the Shiv Sena claimed on Tuesday that the party has been fighting for the cause since long as it had filed a petition in the court for at least 500 shows for such movies every year.
Once bitten twice shy. Shiv Sena has decided to bring on board its ally Bharatiya Janata Party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and other opposition parties to move a fresh no-confidence motion against the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government. The Sena's move comes a day after its earlier no-confidence lapsed and the announcement in this regard was made by state assembly speaker Dilip Walse-Patil.
He also said the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the BJP will jointly contest the upcoming elections to the Mumbai civic body.
Tacitly supporting the Maharsahtra Navnirman Sena for its objection to Abu Azmi's oath taking in Hindi, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday attacked the Samajwadi Party Member of Legislative Assembly, saying he himself was responsible for the ruckus in the state assembly on the opening day."Azmi is a rich politician of Mumbai with property worth Rs 200 crore which he has earned in Maharashtra. Why cannot he learn Marathi," the party asked.
Shops and all commercial establishments were closed down in Dadar after the clashes escalated and traffic was being diverted in the area, they said.
Uddhav Thackeray criticized BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his controversial remarks amid the Marathi-Hindi language row, accusing him of trying to divide people and disturb harmony.
Will Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena make its mark in the forthcoming assembly election in the state?
Taking the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena head-on, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday said that it has asked its volunteers to protect north Indians in Maharashtra and prevent the spread of anti-Hindi feelings. "The Sangh Parivar has asked its volunteers in Maharashtra to try and prevent the spread of anti-north Indian and anti-Hindi feelings," said RSS leader Ram Madhav.He said the RSS was opposed to discrimination on the basis of language.
Whether Thackeray's death would bring together Uddhav and his estranged cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, to avoid a division in Marathi votes, remains to be seen.
Bal Thackeray said Raj can return to the Sena, but wanted him to make the first move.
Scotching speculation of any alliance between the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Sena chief Bal Thackeray said there was no need for a "third entity" in the combine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday said the events of the last two weeks, culminating in the arrest of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, are part of a political experiment in Maharashtra which will not succeed.
Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine's bid to wrest control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday appeared coming to a naught with the country's richest civic body's ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance set to emerge as the largest bloc.
The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra has outdone the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena on the sons of the soil issue, directing that nameplates of commercial establishments in the state should be in Marathi.The state government issued a notification on May 31, directing that nameplates of all shops, establishments, commercial organisations, hotels, theatres and restaurants be in Marathi, an official release said.
Shiv Sena candidate Shraddha Jadhav was elected as the new mayor of Mumbai on Tuesday. Jadhav defeated Congress rival P Kadam by 19 votes, helping Sena retain the mayor's post.
Shinde was speaking in the presence of Union Home Minister Ami Shah at the inauguration ceremony of the 'Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre' built by the Shree Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj in Pune's Kondhwa.
