Bal Thackeray attacks Raj, Rane

Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray has attacked his detractors, both nephew Raj Thackeray and former Chief Minister Narayan Rane, alleging that they had indulged in corruption when they were in the party.

In a comprehensive interview to party mouthpiece Saamna ahead of the municipal elections in the city, Thackeray continued his attack against Raj, who left the party in 2006 to form his own outfit, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, as well as current Revenue Minister Narayan Rane.

"Raj says he was suffocating for 20 years in the Sena, does that mean he harboured ambitions of leading the party since then? They have eaten (money) as much as they want them, and now they claim that the Sena is their enemy," Thackeray was quoted as saying in a front-page interview.

Reacting to Raj's recent statements that the Sena was using an ageing Thackeray for its own "selfish means," Thackeray said, "When he left, he did not think of my age and the grief he was causing me, then why is he so concerned for my health now. I am capable of handling it myself."

Dismissing allegations that he was "imprisoned" in his residence "Matoshree", Thackeray said, "Who can dare do that. I myself have stopped venturing outside. Uddhav consults me on every decision and it is only after I have given my OK that he goes ahead. He is very obedient."

Hitting out at Rane, he said, "Rane was greedy for power and he knows very well the reasons why I threw him out of the Sena. It is because of the Sena that he has earned a fortune and now he is out to destroy the same party."