Uddhav meets Raj; fourth meeting between cousins this month
Mumbai (PTI): Amid buzz over a possible alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited the residence of his cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray in their fourth meeting this month.
A Sena (UBT) functionary said Uddhav visited `Shivtirth' to greet his aunt and Raj's mother Kunda Thackeray on her birthday.
This was the eighth interaction between the Thackeray cousins, once bitter rivals, since they came together in July to oppose the Maharashtra government's decision to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools.
The two cousins and their families had met last week on the occasion of the `Deepotsav' event organised by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at Shivaji Park.
Raj Thackeray, younger of the two, quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, blaming Uddhav for his exit, and floated the MNS.
However, following the drubbing their parties received in the Maharashtra assembly polls in 2024 , both leaders decided to put behind the acrimony and find a common ground for survival.
The coming together of the two parties ahead of the rural and urban body polls in Maharashtra, which are to be held before January 31, 2026, is a mere formality now, Sena as well as MNS leaders have claimed.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
