Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said Raj Thackeray spoke in Marathi's interests but Uddhav Thackeray showed his desperation for power at the cousins' rally to celebrate the government's retreat on the issue of teaching Hindi in schools, reported news agency PTI.

Minister Uday Samant, who belongs to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, similarly sought to distinguish between the two cousins, slamming only Uddhav who leads the rival Shiv Sena (UBT).

Earlier in the day, the hitherto estranged Thackeray cousins shared public stage after two decades at a victory rally in Mumbai to celebrate the withdrawal of two government resolutions seeking to introduce Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools.