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Thackeray sees plot in EC refusal to swap poll dates

Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray today wondered whether it was a "political conspiracy" that the dates for the general election in Maharashtra were not exchanged by the Election Commission as demanded by the state government.

Kicking off the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance's joint election campaign at Girgaum Chowpatty in south Bombay late last night, Thackeray said: "Not changing the dates was done deliberately so that the Congress will have more weightage than the alliance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state."

The state government had requested the Election Commission to swap the election dates (September 5 and September 11) as the annual Ganesh festival begins on September 13.

The alliance wanted the voting in Bombay to be held on September 5 instead of 11 as scheduled. The argument is that the electorate of the metropolis will otherwise be distracted from voting by the festival.

"I had personally spoken to Chief Election Commissioner [Manohar Singh] Gill for the exchange," Thackeray said.

Referring to his disfranchisement, the Sena politician called the decision of the Supreme Court "strange". "I do not want to blame anyone, but definitely injustice is being done to us. Other forces spreading communalism are not being banned from voting," he said.

Addressing a crowd of about 10,000, Thackeray came down heavily on the Congress and said the country has been made to pay a heavy price for the inept handling of the Kashmir problem by Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress politicians.

Accusing the erstwhile ruling party of trying to thrust 'foreigners' on the people, Thackeray said only an Indian national born in India should be allowed to become the prime minister.

He scoffed at Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar's attempt to get a foothold at the national level and wondered how the NCP could support the Samajwadi Party, which had advocated giving financial assistance of Rs 20 billion to Pakistan.

He also ridiculed the corruption charges levelled against him by the NCP chief and said he was "ready to exchange property with Pawar".

BJP politician and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, if voted to power, would amend the Constitution to ensure that the Lok Sabha cannot be dissolved before its five-year tenure.

Similarly, the size of the councils of ministers at the national and state levels would be restricted through a constitutional amendment, he said.

He said the BJP is not against Sonia Gandhi as a person, but when it comes to the prime ministership, a foreigner cannot be allowed to occupy that position.

Among others who spoke on the occasion were Chief Minister Narayan Rane, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, former chief minister and Sena candidate for the Lok Sabha Manohar Joshi, Cultural Affairs Minister Pramod Navalkar, state BJP president Suryabhan Wahadne and BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha Jaywanti Mehta.

Two politicians of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -- general secretary P M Porko and P Appadurai --expressed their support to the alliance government in Maharashtra and said they would campaign jointly for the alliance.

'Shiv Sena Public Demand', an audio cassette containing the speeches of Sena politicians, and a booklet listing the achievements of the state government were released on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, BJP politicians Mahajan, Munde and Wahadne visited the August Kranti Maidan at Gowalia Tank and paid homage to the martyrs of the freedom struggle.

UNI

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It's the beginning of the end for the Shiv Sena: Kunte

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