‘If Big Mac can sell here, so can vada-pav in the Big Apple’

At 48, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has a single mission — to fulfil the pledge made to Bal Thackeray to return saffron to power. The full interview:

Has it become fashionable to display the “Marathi asmitha” to assert your political identity in Maharashtra?
I take strong objection to word fashion. The Shiv Sena under Balasaheb Thackeray has been waging the battle for Marathi manus since 1966. We have been consistent in pursuing our original agenda which is the well-being of the sons of the soil.

Is MNS’s aggressive campaign on Marathi plank making you nervous?
Not at all. It’s like Chinese goods. They look attractive but don’t last. It is all superficial. A sainik who believes in the Thackeray ideology knows to make a distinction between the original and duplicate.

Uddhav and Raj are both working for a common cause of Marathi manoos. Are you dividing the Marathis or uniting them?
I totally rule out split in Marathi vote bank. I am carrying forward the work of Sena chief Bal Thackeray. I have not betrayed the organisation and sainiks.

Are you not belittling the Marathi’s ability by asking them to sell vadapavs?
If MacDonald has its global identity why cannot Mumbai’s vada-pav sell in Washington and London? We have 4,500 members willing to start vada-pav stalls. It is my dream to make vada-pav a global reality. We will go for corporate tie-ups and upgrade the product.

The deputy chief minister RR Patil has ridiculed your mission?
The poor policemen who are on duty for 24 hours are not provided tiffins by R R Patil. They survive on vadapavs. The least he should do is not make fun of the poor.

Does Sena have agenda beyond renaming spree and vadapav planks?
It’s too bad if you are blind to the bigger issues of Sena. From farmers plight to exploitation of agriculture land in name of special economic zones we have agitated on the streets. We forced the government to arrest the illegal land acquisition from farmers. I am anguished at the manner in which union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is handling his ministry.

Does that mean Sena will not consider any covert electoral understanding with NCP in 2009 polls?
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said they have no objection to Sonia Gandhi as prime minister. It shows they are getting closer to Congress.

Why should GenNext like your son Aditya who has a global view not consider Congress with its pan-Indian outlook as an alternative to the Sena?
I wish he had answered this question. But every house has a Aditya who from his father and mother inculcates the threads of cultural nationalism. Moreover, whether it is Islamic fundamentalism (terrorism) or rights of Marathi manoos, these issues are at centrestage and being pursued by all political parties.

Post elections?
Elections are 18 months away. Did we know Mumbai will have non-seasonal rains in month of May?