<p class="title">Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday mouthed the Congress' oft-repeated jibe of "chowkidar chor hai" made in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal to mount a veiled attack on his senior ally -- the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly hurling the "chowkidar chor hai" (the guard is a thief) jibe at Modi to claim irregularities and favouritism in the Rafale deal and award of offset contracts related to the Rs 58,000-crore defence agreement with France. However, the government has rejected the charges.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Addressing a rally in this temple town in Solapur district, Thackeray used the slogan in a different context while narrating an incident.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray said, "In one of the state tours, a farmer showed me a pest-infested lime tree. The lime tree is actually used to make pesticides but this was a plant that was infested with pest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The farmer told me that for the first time in his lifetime, he had seen a lime tree getting infested, which they have been using to make pesticides. I had told him that now, days have changed. Security persons have become thieves."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Halli paharekarich chorya karaylaa laagale aahet. (Today, security persons have themselves become thieves)," he said in Marathi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">'Paharekari' is a Marathi equivalent of the Hindi word chowkidar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray, whose outfit is part of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and also in Maharashtra, did not take any names, but the significance of his comments was not lost on anyone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray and his party have been often criticising the BJP and its top leaders, including Modi, on a range of issues. However, this was perhaps for the first time a BJP ally has publicly made the "chowkidar chor hai" taunt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The origin of this line dates back to the run-up of the 2014 general elections when Modi had promised to work as a 'chowkidar' to guard the people's money and their trust once elected to the top office.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the rally, Thackeray also said "There have been several allegations over the Rafale fighter jet deal and I do not know how the Supreme Court has given a clean cheat. But I know the Modi government has refused pay hike for jawans."</p>
<p class="title">Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday mouthed the Congress' oft-repeated jibe of "chowkidar chor hai" made in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal to mount a veiled attack on his senior ally -- the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly hurling the "chowkidar chor hai" (the guard is a thief) jibe at Modi to claim irregularities and favouritism in the Rafale deal and award of offset contracts related to the Rs 58,000-crore defence agreement with France. However, the government has rejected the charges.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Addressing a rally in this temple town in Solapur district, Thackeray used the slogan in a different context while narrating an incident.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray said, "In one of the state tours, a farmer showed me a pest-infested lime tree. The lime tree is actually used to make pesticides but this was a plant that was infested with pest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The farmer told me that for the first time in his lifetime, he had seen a lime tree getting infested, which they have been using to make pesticides. I had told him that now, days have changed. Security persons have become thieves."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Halli paharekarich chorya karaylaa laagale aahet. (Today, security persons have themselves become thieves)," he said in Marathi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">'Paharekari' is a Marathi equivalent of the Hindi word chowkidar.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray, whose outfit is part of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and also in Maharashtra, did not take any names, but the significance of his comments was not lost on anyone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thackeray and his party have been often criticising the BJP and its top leaders, including Modi, on a range of issues. However, this was perhaps for the first time a BJP ally has publicly made the "chowkidar chor hai" taunt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The origin of this line dates back to the run-up of the 2014 general elections when Modi had promised to work as a 'chowkidar' to guard the people's money and their trust once elected to the top office.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the rally, Thackeray also said "There have been several allegations over the Rafale fighter jet deal and I do not know how the Supreme Court has given a clean cheat. But I know the Modi government has refused pay hike for jawans."</p>