Balasaheb’s memorial not to have his statue

Media Coverage | 30-12-2022

Uddhav meets Vijay Darda at Yavatmal House

Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s memorial in Mumbai will not have his statue. Instead, the world-class monument being built in Mumbai will house his writings, caricatures, as well as photographs and audio tapes chronicling his social, political and creative journey for the new generations, informed the former chief minister and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Uddhav Thackeray, along with his son and young leader, former minister Aaditya Thackeray, paid a courtesy visit to the ‘Yavatmal House’ residence of the chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha Vijay Darda on Wednesday evening.

The senior Thackeray could not attend the get-together organised last Wednesday, December 21, to mark the birth centenary year of the founder editor of Lokmat Media Group and veteran freedom fighter Jawaharlal Darda alias Babuji and the 51st anniversary of the Nagpur edition of Lokmat.

Now that he is in Nagpur to attend the winter session of the State Legislature, he made it a point to pay a courtesy visit to Darda’s residence. During the visit, he had an informal chat and freely discussed various issues with Darda.

On Balasaheb’s memorial, he said care is being taken to blend the archaeological importance of the mayor’s bungalow, which is a heritage building, with the deeds of Balasaheb in the construction of the memorial which will have a two-storey extension in the courtyard of the original structure as well as in the basement below. However, his statue will not be installed in this memorial. On the other hand, efforts are being made to preserve his memory through his extraordinary achievements.

Not worried about public support

On the issue of forming a new party by 40 MLAs on the initiative of Shiv Sena ‘rebel’ leader and chief minister Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said although the MLAs and MPs who were elected on the support and strength of Shiv Sainiks have left the party, the original organisation has not suffered any setback. On the contrary, the common people have sympathy for our party. Therefore, we are not worried at all; we are rather confident about the future of the party. Besides, the politics of the state has changed as both the Congress and our party have come together in the form of Maha Vikas Aghadi for the greater good of the state. As the ideology of the three parties is different, it is natural to have different positions on some issues. But we have come together putting aside the points of contention for the greater good. Moreover, the political events of the last few months have brought the three parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi even more closer. Thackeray claimed that this unity will definitely yield good results in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other upcoming elections.

‘Political culture of Maha destroyed’

People who left the Shiv Sena and the party supporting them do not suit the political culture of Maharashtra. Ideological, partisan battles have now reached the level of personal accusations and character assassination. This has never happened in Maharashtra. The fourth generation of our family is now in politics. The legacy of cultivating personal and familial affection beyond politics has been handed down to us by previous generations. The current politics that intersects with the time-honoured tradition is going on, Uddhav Thackeray remarked.

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