Uddhav Thackeray releases 'vision' for state, 2 days before Raj's 'blue-print'

After locking horns with MNS in a Wi-Fi war, the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray outdid cousin Raj in the blue-print race yesterday, releasing his ‘vision' for Maharashtra, two days before August 9, the date on which MNS was expected to release its own plans for the state.

While messages circulating on social media had indicated that the MNS would be releasing its blue print for the state on August 9, Sena chief Uddhav beat him to the task, when he called for an urgent press conference yesterday, in which he announced his ‘vision'.

Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray. File pic

Sandeep Deshpande, MNS group leader in the BMC, said, "We hadn't announced any date officially, even though August 9 was being circulated as a date on social messaging applications. I am not authorised to say anything about the blue print."

At the Sena Bhavan, Uddhav interacted with the media, reaching out to 13 other locations in the state via video-conferencing. "This is an outline that I have thought out and want all (Shiv Sainiks) to support me in making it come true," he said.

In his ‘vision' presented by Uddhav, the Sena leader speaks about Nagpur being made a transport hub, with Amravati, Pune, Solapur and Nasik being developed into agriculture, education, textile and religious hubs respectively. The video could be played only after four failed attempts, to which Uddhav, said, "The Congress has made everything so useless in the state that we will have to wait a while to clear all the hurdles."

He also launched a logo for the Mumbai Waterfront. This was followed by a video on the eastern waterfront. He even raised some eyebrows when he praised Nitin Gadkari, who has in the past been heard criticising the Sena chief. "Gadkariji has assured us that he will take the waterfront issue seriously and has also created a committee," said Uddhav.