‘Leave politics to me, focus on cartooning, photography’: Devendra Fadnavis tells Uddhav, Raj Thackeray

Devendra Fadnavis shared the stage with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray.

In a moment of deceptive levity, at a function to release a book of cartoons on Thursday, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked that the Thackeray cousins should focus on what they know best – photography and cartooning – and let him manage the state’s politics as only he knows best.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis shared the stage with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray during an event in Dadar to release a book edited by veteran political and social satirist Prashant Kulkarni. (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo)

Fadnavis shared the stage with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, and cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar at the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak Auditorium at Shivaji Park in Dadar on Thursday.

The event was held to release ‘Hasya Rekha’—a book of cartoons collecting the work of Marathi cartoonists over the last 100 years—edited by veteran political and social satirist Prashant Kulkarni.

While assuring that the state government will build an exclusive art gallery for Marathi cartoonists to display their work, Fadnavis said: “One should do what one can do better. The Thackeray cousins are a good photographer and a cartoonist respectively. They should continue with that and let me handle politics.”

Keeping step with the CM, in response to Shelar’s earlier statement that the leaders should attend such gatherings together more often, Raj Thackeray said: “In order to do that, Devendra Fadnavis must remain in the same position till 2029.”

However, when Shelar said that the CM responds to calls made by Raj, Fadnavis took a jab at Uddhav, saying, “I used to respond to every call by Uddhav Thackeray too till 2019 (when the coalition between BJP and the undivided Sena split up) and was ready to respond even after that, but he never called.”

When many members in the audience expressed surprise over him sharing a stage with opposition leaders, Fadnavis said: “Unlike in the south where leaders from opposite parties want to finish each other, we follow traditional Maharashtra politics of uniting for non-political activities.”