Mumbai, June 30 -- After the state government announced its decision to scrap the two government resolutions (GRs) on introducing Hindi in schools from class 1, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said the protest rally planned on July 5 in conjunction with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) would be turned into a victory rally. He urged his cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray and other opposition parties and civil society groups opposing the move to introduce Hindi in schools to participate in the rally. The Thackeray cousins' decision to hold a joint protest rally in Mumbai on July 5 was seen as a politically significant development ahead of the local body polls scheduled later this year as they were supposed to come together publicly after nearly two decades. The rally was garnering visible response from people as well as opposition parties, which staged a notional protest on Sunday by burning copies of the GRs issued by the government. Addressing the media after Fadnavis announced that the GRs had been scrapped, Uddhav Thackeray said the issue had awakened the Marathi. "I am proud of the power of the Marathi people which defeated the government's agenda. This again shows what the people can do when they come together," the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said. The protest rally planned on July 5 would be converted into a celebration rally, he declared, saying the time and format of the programme would be announced after discussions with all the concerned people. "The unity of Marathi people should not be allowed to break again. I am requesting the Marathi Bhasha Samiti, the MNS and others to participate in the programme on July 5," he said. When asked if he and Raj Thackeray could come together in the near future, Uddhav responded saying, "I am repeating it again that instead of coming together during a crisis, if we remain united, crisis will not come." MNS chief Raj Thackeray too said that their unity had forced the state government to change its decision and hoped the unity would hold, although he did not respond to Uddhav's invitation for the celebratory rally. "The attempt to force Hindi in Maharashtra has now finally been defeated, and for this, congratulations are due to all the people of Maharashtra. Perhaps the government was intimidated by this unity and that's a good thing, they should be afraid," Raj Thackeray said in a post on social media platform X. The MNS chief also said further attempts to make Hindi compulsory in schools would not be tolerated. "The government has once again appointed a new committee. Let me say this clearly, whether the committee's report comes out or not, such actions will no longer be tolerated. The government must etch this fact permanently into their mind," he warned. NCP (SP) too referred to the scrapping of the GRs as a victory of the Marathi people. "The decision mandating Hindi has been scrapped. This is the strength of Marathi people. It is also the victory of Marathi people," state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil said in a post on X. The party has not responded to Uddhav's invitation to join the victory rally on July 5. Before the government announced the decision to scrap the GRs, organisations working for the cause of the Marathi language burnt copies of the GRs at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. Opposition leaders including Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sakpal, MNS leader Nitin Sardesai and leaders from Left parties participated in the protest. "Today, we have burnt the GR to ashes. If they still want to force Hindi on us, we will see how to deal with it," Uddhav was quoted saying while leaving the venue....