Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Balasaheb Thackeray's son Uddhav even as he appealed to people to maintain calm and sobriety. He said the interests of Maharashtra were “particulary important” for Thackeray and “he always strived to inculcate a sense of pride in its people.”
Personalities across the political spectrum and social sphere on Saturday condoled the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
Thackeray was a strong patriot and a good cartoonist who carved an identity of his own in Maharashtra. He had great affection towards me and was a guide for me.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan
Maharashtra has lost a veteran, experienced leader....He was a politician, cartoonist, editor, organiser as well as art-lover and orator
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde
Thackeray, as cartoonist, arrived on the scene like a storm after the collapse of communists in Mumbai, and took forward the legacy of his reformist father, `Prabodhankar’ Thackeray.
BJP chief Nitin Gadkari
He considered King Shivaji his idol. He worked for the people all his life. We took inspiration from him while governing in Maharashtra.
DMK chief M Karunanidhi
Thackeray was a person who would not come forward to compromise on the welfare of people from his state and his son Uddhav Thackeray, is leading the movement efficiently in his father’s footsteps. I extend my deepest condolences to Thackeray’s family and friends of the Shiv Sena.
MP Supriya Sule
There were political differences for sure. But Pawar and Thackeray were the best of friends in the personal sphere.
The 86-year-old cartoonist-turned-politician breathed his last at 3.30 PM today at his residence ‘Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra.
On hearing the news, a frenzied mob of Shiv sainiks tried to enter ‘Matoshree’ by raising slogans “Bal Thackeray Amar Rahe’ while police tried to prevent them from going inside and enhanced security all over.
Many of them in the crowd broke down on hearing the news about their leader’s death.
Thackeray’s health kept fluctuating since last few days with his son Uddhav appealing to Sainiks “to maintain calm and pray for his father” on Thursday night.
Thackeray addressed Shiv Sainiks every year on Dussehra at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park since Sena’s inception. However, this year he could not attend the annual event, and his recorded address was telecast.
In this recorded speech, Thackeray, visibly very ill, appealed the workers to support his son and executive president Uddhav Thackeray, and grandson and Sena youth wing president Aditya Thackeray.
“I have collapsed physically,” he had said
