MUMBAI, 24 January 2008 — Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said that only his party could produce results in Maharashtra and that the magic of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi or Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati would not work. Thackeray, who celebrated his 82nd birthday yesterday, spoke to his party workers by video-conference urging them to support him.
In an interview published in the party mouthpiece “Saamna” on Tuesday, Thackeray said he was ready to support Nationalist Congress Party leader and Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for the post of prime minister conditionally.
“It is my desire to see a Marathi become the prime minister of the country after we have seen Pratibha Patil, a Marathi, become the president.” The support to Pawar, Thackeray said, would be on the condition that he does not remain a puppet of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and take decisions on his own.
Thackeray said he had no doubt Pawar had the qualification, experience and abilities needed for a prime minister but he had wasted all his qualities by joining the UPA government controlled by Sonia. He said it was ridiculous that Pawar had been against Sonia over her foreign origin issue, but had then joined the government.
Thackeray said he and Pawar were getting closer — an indirect reference to an alliance between the Shiv Sena and the NCP — but accused some vested interests of creating hurdles.
In another development, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday appointed Hemant Karkare, who was joint commissioner of police (administration) in Mumbai, as Anti-Terrorism Squad chief. He replaced K.P. Raghuvanshi.
The post of ATS chief has been vacant for the past three months, since Raghuvanshi was promoted as additional director general (Railways).
