Fadnavis, on stage with Thackeray cousins, tells them: let me do politics

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray appeared on the same stage today. News of the meeting continues to be a talking point in political circles.

Before the programme began, Fadnavis and the two Thackeray brothers also held a closed-door conversation. What it was about has not yet come out.

The occasion was the release of the book 'Maharashtra Chi Hasyarekha', edited by senior cartoonist Prashant Kulkarni. The event was held at the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Smarak auditorium at Shivaji Park in Dadar. Speaking there, Fadnavis also took a dig at Uddhav Thackeray.

Fadnavis said, "I am good at politics, I do politics. Raj ji is a fine cartoonist, Uddhav ji is a fine photographer, they should do that. Let me do politics." He said this in a light-hearted manner to the two Thackeray brothers.

Fadnavis also said he saw nothing special in the three of them coming together on one stage. According to him, he is always ready to come together like this for art.

Fadnavis said the advantage of speaking at the end of the programme is that Raj Thackeray cannot respond to it, so he has the freedom to speak. He described the cartoon as an art in which one can say what one wants and express oneself without uttering a single word. In his words, a cartoon can say as much as an editorial does.

Fadnavis said cartoons keep being drawn on politicians like him, and that they are "object-subject". He said he had requested Raj Thackeray to draw the nose bigger and the ears bigger, but to show less of the belly. According to Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray has accepted this for now and no such cartoon of his has appeared so far, but the others do not listen.