Mumbai, Dec 2 (PTI): Standing by his party’s demand that memorial of the late Bal Thackeray be constructed at Shivaji Park here, Uddhav Thackeray, the son of late Shiv Sena supremo, said that the controversy over the issue is not required.
The Maharashtra Congress is against the idea of constructing any 'other memorial at the sprawling ground in central Mumbai'. "Shivaji Maharaj is a god for people of Maharashtra. His memorial is already there at Shivaji Park," MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre had said.
In his first interview after Bal Thackeray’s death, Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray vowed to continue fighting for 'Marathi Manoos' and 'Hindutvavaad'.
Speaking to Sena's paper 'Saamna' on other party issues, Uddhav said Bal Thackeray was irreplaceable and would always be Shiv Sena’s supremo.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had said last week that the government would not do anything in violation of the law with regard to Sena's demand to set up the memorial at Shivaji Park.
Thackeray was cremated at Shivaji Park -- where he had addressed his followers at Dassera rallies for over 40 years -- on November 18.
Uddhav is slated to commence a Maharashtra Yatra starting Monday.
On December 03, Uddhav will meet party workers and elected representatives from local bodies to Parliament in western Maharashtra's Kolhapur.
Similar meetings for various regions shall be held on December 05 in Nashik, December 07 in Ratnagiri, December 14 in Nagpur and December 16 in Aurangabad.
During those five days, Thackeray will meet activists from all the 35 districts of the state, besides workers of the Yuva Sena, headed by his son, Aditya, and other party organisations.
A majority of these meetings are scheduled as closed-door interactions, which will be attended by top party functionaries like Subhash Desai, Manohar Joshi, Liladhar Dake, Gajanand Kirtikar, Ramdas Kadam, Diwakar Raote and Sanjay Raut.
This will be Thackeray's first independent attempt to reach out and strengthen his rapport with the party's rank and file after his charismatic father's death on November 17.