Uddhav Thackeray to have luncheon meeting with Advani

New Delhi, Sept 10 (UNI) The differences between the BJP and Shiv Sena that cropped up during the recent Presidential elections seem to be coming to an end with the two parties sticking to a common stand on the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Sachar Committee report.

Shiv Sena Working President Uddhav Thackeray, who is here in the Capital, will attend a luncheon meeting tomorrow with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani, along with former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi and former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu.

From the BJP, party General Secretary and former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde and state party Chief Nitin Gadkari will attend the meeting, Shiv Sena Spokesman and MP Sanjay Rawat told newspersons.

The meeting of top Shiv Sena and BJP leadership assumes significance as the Shiv Sena went against the NDA on the issue of support to President Pratibha Patil as the Congress Presidential candidate.

Now the two-decade long friends find themselves on the same side while opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal and the Justice Sachar Committee report on Muslim status.

The Maharashtra state BJP leaders have not hidden their anger against the Shiv Sena and have conveyed their displeasure about the continued electoral alliance with the party for the coming Assembly elections in the state slated for 2009 elections.

Mr Thackeray will also lead a Shiv Sena MPs' delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convey the party's position on the UPA's actions on the Sachar Committee report.

UNI