"Will hold press conference if I wish to make political statement": Raj Thackeray slams media for misreporting remarks on MNS-UBT alliance

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 16 (ANI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday lambasted the media for wrongly attributing words to him during an informal conversation with reporters over the question of possible alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and said that he will hold a presser in case he has to make a political statement.
"What kind of new journalism is this? Informal conversations are meant to remain informal. And even if something from that is published, how can one put words into someone's mouth that were never spoken? Has that sense of journalistic ethics now vanished?" Thackeray posted on Facebook.
"If I ever wish to make any political statement, I will hold an official press conference," he added.
He accused a few journalists of reporting at "someone's behest" and expressed disappointment over the state of journalism, saying, "Do you expect us to keep speaking just because you need daily headlines or someone else needs a news item? And if nothing is available on a given day, you fabricate stories."
Thackeray narrated that he was asked about the possibility of an alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) in Igatpuri, based on the joint rally held in Mumbai this month. He said that the media attributed words to him that he "never said".
"I was asked about the joint rally held on July 5. To that, I responded that it wasn't a political gathering -- it was a celebration of the victory of the Marathi people. I was then asked, 'What about the alliance?' To which I replied, 'Should I now discuss alliance matters with you?' Following this, some English and Marathi newspapers and selected media outlets attributed words to me that I never said, such as, 'The decision on the alliance will be taken based on the situation before the municipal elections'," the MNS chief said.
He further urged journalists not to indulge in such practices and said that the chaos, which remains rampant on social media, must not infiltrate journalism.
"My direct association with journalism goes back to 1984, and newspapers, weeklies, and magazines were born within our very household. My own journey as a cartoonist spanned Marmik, Lokprabha, Awaaz, Loksatta, and Saamana -- I've witnessed journalism up close. I therefore fully understand what good and credible journalism looks like. So, to those few journalists and their editors -- I humbly request: please do not indulge in such practices," Thackeray asserted.
Earlier, on July 13, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, in his Saamana article, stated that the Thackeray brothers, who joined hands on the Marathi issue, must also come together politically to fight the "commercial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".
He asserted that the alliance between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray was "necessary" for Maharashtra to get a new direction.
"The current rulers of Delhi and Maharashtra are shaken by the way the storm of Marathi unity has been created in Maharashtra. They will try to prevent this alliance from happening," the article read. (ANI)