Uddhav Thackeray Launches Blistering Attack on BJP and Nitesh Rane at Shiv Sena’s 59th Anniversary Event

As the 59th Foundation Day celebrations of Shiv Sena concluded today, party chief Uddhav Thackeray delivered a scathing speech that sharply criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters, particularly targeting BJP MLA Nitesh Rane.

Speaking before a gathering of Shiv Sainiks, Thackeray lashed out at those who, according to him, consistently belittle Shiv Sena while aligning themselves with the BJP.

“How many generations of yours are going to keep playing chess? Come out and face us,” he said, apparently referring to Rane. “A frog is croaking—that’s all the work he has been given.” Thackeray did not hold back in ridiculing Rane's demeanor and stature with biting satire. “What’s your height? What’s your voice? The height of a penguin, the walk of a duck, the voice of a chicken, and eyes that don’t belong to anyone. What does your life even say?” he jeered.

Escalating his personal remarks, Thackeray raised questions about Rane’s political and familial legacy:

“What is your background? What is your father’s background? Let me say it clearly—choose a father. Even though our Shiv Sena is 59 years old, our father, our god, our saffron, and our ideology remain unchanged.”

In a strong rebuke to the idea that Shiv Sena had compromised its identity, Thackeray reiterated the party’s founding ideals and refused to accept the subservient roles often associated with political opportunism.

“Shiv Sena was not formed to carry a Shetji’s palanquin or to lick his boots,” Thackeray thundered. “Go and tell that fool.”

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief’s fiery rhetoric underlined his ongoing campaign to assert ideological ownership of the party’s legacy and to oppose those he claims have betrayed its foundational values by siding with rival forces.