Raj Thackeray: the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, made a damning admission in the second segment of his joint interview with Uddhav Thackeray in “Saamana” on Friday, accusing him of a long-standing “strategic plot” to deprive Mumbai of its riches and land.

He cautioned that compared to the 1950s Samyukta Maharashtra movement, the danger to Mumbai’s autonomy has increased.

Raj Thackeray saw a notable change in the intentions of people who opposed Mumbai’s interests. He said that the present goal is to physically split apart portions of the city, while previous battles were mostly about the city’s riches.

Some rich non-Marathi elites wanted Mumbai to transfer to Gujarat during the Samyukta Maharashtra campaign. “Those five individuals have expanded to five hundred today,” he said. He emphasized that the way the federal and state governments are coordinating projects points to a degree of risk never seen before.

Raj Thackeray questioned why airports are being constructed next to the Vadhavan Port, which is close to the Gujarat border, and the purpose of infrastructure projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). According to him, they are “strategic manoeuvres” that aim to hollow out Mumbai’s center while strengthening ties between Gujarat and Maharashtra’s economic centers.

According to Raj Thackeray, the construction of the Vadhavan Port and the Navi Mumbai International Airport is a part of a bigger scheme to clear off valuable property in the center of Mumbai. The government has already started moving cargo operations from Mumbai’s “rightful” airport to Navi Mumbai, he said. He projected that all operations, both local and foreign, would ultimately be relocated.At least 50 Shivaji Parks might fit within the present Mumbai airport due to its size. He said, “The plan is to move all flights to Navi Mumbai and then put this massive tract of Mumbai’s land up for sale.”

“The math is clear: they want Mumbai’s wealth to go to a particular class and eventually to Gujarat, while the city’s physical land is divided up for real estate exploitation,” he said.

Thackeray described this action as a “strategic dismantling” of Mumbai’s resources rather than as urban growth. According to him, the government is paving the way for a certain group of developers and commercial interests to seize control of Mumbai’s most valuable real estate by moving the city’s essential infrastructure.