State deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday ridiculed Raj Thackeray’s state-wide tour terming it ‘bogus’.
Reacting to Mr Thackeray’s verbal attacks, Mr Pawar said, “Our tour is dedicated to the drought-affected people, while Raj’s tour and his rallies are absolute bogus.”
Mr Thackeray is on a state-wide tour, while Mr Pawar is touring the drought-hit areas of the state to review the relief measures provided by the government. On Sunday, Mr Pawar was in Solapur.
Giving an example of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, Mr Pawar said that the crowd gathered at Mr Thackeray’s rally did not translate into votes. “Bal Thackeray was also a crowd-puller, a large number of people used to gather at his rallies, but he was never allowed to rule the state. In 1995, the saffron alliance came to power with the help of rebels,” he said.
On Friday, Mr Thackeray had targeted Mr Pawar, alleging that he was a serious person because he remained engaged in counting money the whole day. Reacting to this, Mr Pawar criticised Mr Thackeray saying, “People who didn’t know anything about the drought situation are doing drama (sic).” He also claimed that there were no differences between the ruling Congress and NCP and the alliance partners were working in unity.