Wring necks of those who want to split the state: Bal Thackeray

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday told party workers to “wring the necks of the people trying to divide Maharashtra.” His son, Uddhav, appealed to all the parties to join the Sena in its fight against a separate Vidarbha.

Thackeray’s recorded message to the sainiks was played out at Akhand Maharashtra Parishad, a conference held at Rang Sharda Hall, Bandra (West). It was attended by senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi and journalists Madhukar Bhave and Sudhakar Doiphode.

In his message, Thackeray said, “Mumbai is the country’s economic capital. But foremost, it is the capital of Maharashtra. I cannot forget the 105 martyrs who laid down their lives for Mumbai,” he said.

According to him, clamouring for Vidarbha’s statehood on the 50th anniversary of the formation of Maharashtra was nothing but a conspiracy. “A conspiracy has been hatched to divide Maharashtra. Wring the necks of those who are trying to split the state.”

Uddhav appealed to all the parties to join hands with the Sena. “CD Deshmukh (former union finance minister) is our role model. He resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet because of his anti-Maharashtra policies,” he said. “I warn the people who hate Maharashtra that if they do not change their ways, 11 crore people of the state will teach them a lesson.”

Addressing the conference, senior journalist Doiphode came up with an interesting anecdote about the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. “Neither the Maharashtra assembly, nor the Madhya Pradesh assembly passed the resolution of Samyukta Maharashtra. It was the erstwhile Hyderabad assembly that passed the resolution in 1955, along with the resolutions of united Andhra Pradesh and united Karnataka,” he said.

Aussie issue: Thackeray’s speech referred to the Sena demand of banning Australian cricketers from the IPL. “I demanded the ban because Indians are being targeted in Australia,” he said on Monday.

It led to speculations that the Sena would ignore Sharad Pawar’s request and stop Australian cricketers from playing matches. The party clarified that Thackeray was not referring to any policy decision.