Raj skirts politics, draws sketch of uncle at cartoon convention

Even as talks of a possible reunion of the Thackeray brothers once again took centre stage, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday refused to comment on the issue and rather choose to draw a cartoon of his late uncle Bal Thackeray.

Thackeray, who was in the city to inaugurate the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Cartoonist Convention, steered clear of any political comment but made continuos reference to Bal Thackeray while talking about his experience as a cartoonist.

The convention organised by Kailash Bhingare saw quite a few schedule changes when cartoonist R K Laxman decided to attend the opening ceremony despite his delicate health.

As per the original schedule, Laxman and his wife Kamala, who were brought to the stage on wheelchairs, were to leave the venue after attending the first half of the programme. However, the couple took to the stage again as Laxman apparently insisted on attending the entire function and was keen on hearing Thackeray speak.

Talks of a possible rapprochement between Shiv Sena leader Uddhav and Raj again came to the fore after Uddhav dropped hints at a recent interview.

Raj Thackeray. however, started his speech, saying, "I am here to talk about cartoons and nothing else."

Reminiscing about his formative days as a cartoonist, he credited his uncle with inspiring him to take up cartooning seriously.

"Balasaheb used to ask me why I stopped drawing cartoons," he said. Talking about the last days of his uncle, Thackeray said till the last day of his life, he maintained his posture and could remember everything.

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