Union minister Narayan Rane on Thursday hit out at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, blaming him for "bringing down" the Marathi speakers' population in Mumbai.

Speaking to reporters here, Rane said, “It was the policies of the Uddhav Thackeray-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal?corporation that forced the Marathi people to leave the city. He is solely responsible for bringing down the Marathi percentage here."

Rane was speaking a day after Thackeray lashed out at senior BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah at a public rally.