Balasaheb Backed Modi Amid Calls To Remove Him As Gujarat CM: Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddav Thackeray said that there was a demand to remove Modi as Gujarat chief minister when BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister of the country.

Narendra Modi makes a gesture as Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray looks on during the Shiv Sena- BJP rally at Shivaji Park on January 28, 2007

Source : Getty Images/File Photo

New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that his late father and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi when there was a demand to remove him as the chief minister of Gujarat post the Godhra riots.

He told the Marathi daily ‘Loksatta’ in an interview that the Prime Minister belongs to the entire country and not a single party, PTI reported.

He said that there was a demand to remove Modi as the Gujarat chief minister when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the country’s prime minister.

At the time, the BJP bigwig L K Advani had come to Mumbai to attend a rally and discussed the demand with Bal Thackeray. 

"We were chatting (after the rally). He (Advani) said he wanted to discuss something with Balasaheb. Then me and (late BJP leader) Pramod ji (Mahajan who was also present), left. Later, Balasaheb himself talked about (the discussion). Advani ji spoke about Modi and asked Balasaheb what he thought about the demand for removing Modi (Modi was not projected as the prime minister then.)”

"Balasaheb told Advani ji then that Modi should not be touched. If Modi was removed, (the BJP) will lose Gujarat and that Hindutva will suffer because of it," he said.

Uddhav Thackeray said he respects Modi as an individual.

"Does this mean we will tie up immediately? I am not saying this. I am saying this personally. There is affection and that is our culture”, he added.

When questioned about the alleged misuse of probe agencies by Centre against non-BJP parties, Thackeray was reported as saying that there is a "limit to everything" and central agencies are scared of going to West Bengal, which is being ruled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

"Such fear could be felt across the country. Eventually, officials (attached to respective agencies) get beaten up," he said and talked against using agencies out of vengeance.