Maharashtra Navanirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday alleged that Shiv Sena activists had planned to attack him and accused then Sena leader Narayan Rane of masterminding the attack.

Addressing a rally organised by his party near Mumbai, Raj told a packed audience that this incident had taken place before he had quit Shiv Sena and formed his own party.

Raj said that the Sena activists had planned to attack him when he was leaving the Circuit House at Sindhudurgh in Konkan region. The MNS supremo put the blame on Rane, who is now a member of the ruling Congress and the state Revenue Minister.

Raj said he was tipped off about the Sena plans by a senior police officer of Sindhudurg district. He told the audience that he decided to quit the party and form his own outfit after he heard about the conspiracy against him.

Raj, nephew of Sena chief Bal Thackeray, quit the saffron party in late 2005 and floated his own outift in early 2006.

Meanwhile, the Sena dismissed Raj's allegation as a pack of lies. In a statement, Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said, "It is unfortunate that Raj was making such baseless allegations."

"It would have been better if he (Raj) had trusted his own brother rather than the police officer," he said.

Raut said that by making such a statement, Raj has made himself an object of ridicule.

The spokesman added that Raj's statement comes after Rane's recent visit to the MNS office. "This statement was perhaps a Diwali gift by Raj to Rane to reciprocate his gestures," he said.