Thackeray attacks govt over security cover

Thackeray questioned the need for Deputy Chief Minister Bhujbal to be given protection and, egged on by anti-Bhujbal slogans from the crowd, said the Hindu New Year (Gudi Padwa) would begin with the unfurling of the saffron flag atop Mantralaya. “I will not rest till this government is out,” he assured.

However, the Sena chief’s hour-long speech did not touch upon Navi Mumbai or the civic problems afflicting the township, though the meeting was being held as part of the civic poll campaign. He also fought shy of attacking Ganesh Naik, who quit the Sena, on his home turf. However, he sharply criticised Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi for “his attack on India in a public meeting.”

Thackeray said it was getting increasingly difficult to find good commissioners for corporations and came down heavily on strikes which “hold the common man to ransom. As far as I know the cabbies have no case for a strike, considering the way they plunder passengers, especially in the monsoon.”