We had enough evidence against Pawar, but failed to book him8217;

Thackeray said without Pawar8217;s consent and written permission, it was beyond the powers of the officials of the Ministry of Defence to allow outsiders to travel with him.

8220;Compared to Pawar, I am a small man, but whenever I go out, they carefully check the antecedents of persons travelling with me. I do not believe that the Sharma brothers, whowere on board the Defence Minister8217;s plane, were not known to him,8221; Thackeray added.

Thackeray said whenever he inquired with the then Chief Minister Manohar Joshi as well as Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, he was told that the investigations into the case against Pawar were in progress. 8220;It is really unfortunate that we could not take the case to its logical end,8221; he added.

Thackeray said he was also unhappy over the inept handling of his dream project of providing free houses to 40 lakh slum dwellers in the metropolis.8220;When Pawar was at the helm of affairs, I had submitted him a comprehensive plan to provide free houses to the slum dwellers. While he failed to take note of it, I felt that since the alliance is in power, the scheme will be executed without any obstacles,8221; Thackeray added.

Thackeray was also agitated over his disenfranchisement and said that the President of India should be elected directly by the people.

By a Presidential order of July 28, 1999, Thackeray was debarredfrom contesting the election and also exercising his franchise for six years from December 11, 1995.

However, the Sena chief was at pains to make it clear that he was not proposing this since he was debarred by the President from contesting as well as exercising his franchise.

8220;I have no grudge against President K R Narayanan. I am not trying to raise my personal case, but I feel the President should be elected directly by the people,8221; he added.

Thackeray said since the President is elected by the MPs and members of state legislative assemblies, it was difficult to believe that he can act independently.

8220;The party which has largest number of MPs decides the President and as such, the party in power is bound to influence the decision making process of the constitutional head of the country,8221; Thackeray added.

For more transparency in the administration of the office of the President, Thackeray said it was essential to amend the constitution to provide for the direct election of President. 8220;Afterthe Lok Sabha elections, I will personally take up the issue of direct election of President,8221; he informed.

On the role of the Election Commission, Thackeray said that on occasions, he felt that it was crossing its brief, particularly in regard to recognition of political parties and implementation of code of conduct.

8220;On several occasions, we have asked for rules and regulations for recognition of political parties, but, by and large, instead of delivering the order, it had referred the case to the courts for opinion,8221; he added.

The Shiv Sena chief also said that after a year or two, he planned to take sanyas.

8220;I am not tired of politics, but I am shocked and surprised at the lack of responsibility towards the nation. For one or the other reason, we have not been able to provide a stable government, as a result, we have virtually become disabled. Small parties, which do not have even more than three MPs are holding the nation, particularly the Prime Minister to ransom. This is really unfortunatesituation,8221; he remarked.