Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday ended speculations that he might move to Varsha, the official CM residence located at Malabar Hill, stating that he prefers his home 'Matoshree' in Bandra over it.
This was revealed by the CM himself during his felicitation programme held at his alma mater, Balmohan Vidyamandir, in Dadar. Along with him, Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, who is also the alumnus of this school, was felicitated by the school and their batch mates.
Thackeray had studied in the school till Standard 10 in 1976. Patil was a year junior to him and cleared Standard 10 in 1977. A get together of their batch mates was organised by the school and both of them were felicitated for their achievements in life.
During the programme, both of them were interviewed by well-known anchor and actor Ajit Bhure.
"Definitely Matoshree," replied Thackeray, when Bhure asked him to choose between his Bandra home and Varsha, the sprawling 12,000 sq ft official residence reserved for chief ministers.
"School is not just a four-walled structure, but a place where I inherited a legacy of good values," Thackeray recalled, while his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya, a cabinet minister, listened.
Echoing Thackeray, Patil said the values instilled by the school still guide them at every step of their life.
"Our school taught us to differentiate between the good and the bad. That is the reason when Thackeray became the CM, I told others that he will never take any wrong decisions," he said.
Thackeray, who became the CM on November 28 last year, currently shuttles between Varsha and Matoshree.
He had said that the official residence would be used only for holding official meetings. Thackeray held his first official meeting at Varsha on February 7.
Matoshree has an aura of legacy and power, as Thacekray's late father and Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray shaped the Sena's political and social journey from its confines.
Late comer, Uddhav Patil, whose father Rajaram Bapu Patil was a minister then, used to stay in Malbar Hill. Thackeray resided at Dadar near the school.
"Despite staying near the school, Uddhav used to reach late. I used to always reach 5 to 10 minutes before the school started. Even today, he came late," Patil said this in lighter vein causing laughter in the hall.
Replying to this, Uddhav said that he never did any grave mistake and Balasaheb was never summoned to school. Patil also shared memories on how they prepared a budget sitting on a wheel chair in a private hospital. "A budget cell was started in hospital after both of my legs were severely fractured in an accident at Banglore," he added.
