Thackeray takes a dig at Modi

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday took a dig at the BJP, saying why its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was refusing to resign from the Gujarat chief minister’s post when he was aiming to head the nation.

Talking to the local media in Nashik, where the MNS chief went for a two-day review of the municipal corporation projects, Thackeray even hurled a pun at the Aam Aadmi Party. “Aap ke baap hai (we are your father in Maharashtra),” he said.

The MNS leader gently admonished Modi for harping on “the great development Gujarat has made” in every rally and forum.

“He (Modi) should know that a prime minister belongs to the entire nation and not just one state,” he said.

Talking about Modi’s popularity based on the crowd he attracts, Thackeray quipped: “If that is the criterion... then one should see my gatherings...the crowd is no less.”

He, however, admitted that Gujarat was much ahead of Maharashtra on several developmental fronts. “But I have always been saying that give me the reins of the state and then see what I will do,” he said.

Responding to the AAP’s growing popularity, Thackeray said: “What is new about the AAP. I have been raising the same issues for the past six years and I promise that if voted to power, then I will usher in a clean government.”

While the local media was agog with the MNS chief’s caustic remarks on Modi, political observers called it “a mere posturing before the polls.”