Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray turned 79 on Monday.
However, on the occasion, Thackeray would not meet anyone at his residence 'Matoshree' in Bandra, Mumbai due to security concerns, sources said.
The Sena chief is scheduled to address a meeting at Shanmukhananda hall in the city later in the evening, where he was expected to speak on various issues, including the exit of Raj Thackeray and Narayan Rane from the Sena.
'The roof might have caved in'
The Sena mouthpiece Saamna, which also celebrates its anniversary on Monday, came out with a special pullout containing articles on the Sena chief. In his Saamna editorial, Thackeray briefly commented on those who had left the party by comparing them to 'crows who sat on the big tree of Sena and flew away for contesting polls, after acquiring heaps of wealth.'
"The ties born out of objectives are stronger than that of blood," Thackeray said, quoting a noted Marathi writer, without naming former Sena youth leader and his nephew Raj. He also criticised the 'appeasement' of Muslims for vote bank politics.
Meanwhile, keeping political differences at bay, Raj wished Sena supremo on his 80th birthday. Raj, accompanied by his family, arrived at Thackeray's residence at around 10:15 am and held a meeting with his uncle for nearly 25 minutes.
Coming out of Thackeray's residence, Raj said, "I gave him my best wishes on his 80th birthday and he gave me blessings."
"We did not discuss any political issue," he added.
Raj had snapped ties with Shiv Sena on December 18 last year following differences with party executive president and cousin Uddhav Thackeray. Incidentally, this was the estranged Sena leader's first meeting with his uncle after he openly revolted against the party, accusing Uddhav of running the organisation with his 'coterie' who he described as 'clerks.'
The last meeting between the two took place on December 15 when the Sena chief had offered him to take charge of the party affairs in Pune, Nashik and Konkan region, which Raj had turned down.
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