PM's address to the nation was most laughable: Bal Thackeray

Mumbai, Sept 24: Shiv Sena supremo

has described Prime Minister Manmohan's recent address to the nation as "most laughable".

Writing in his party's mouthpiece Saamna, he pointed out that the PM had not been able to persuade the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress to support the UPA government's policies on FDI in multi-brand retail.

Thackeray wondered that when allies of the ruling party do not agree that FDI is imperative, how can the PM convince the people through his "quite unprecedented" speech on Sept 21 that such reforms are necessary.

A majority of traders in the country are upset with the government on the issue of FDI in retail, the editorial stressed.

The Shiv Sena chief rued that the common man has been negatively impacted by diesel price hike. Hearth fires will be snuffed out in the homes of the poor due to it, he observed.

Slamming the PM who had urged the people to "strengthen his hands", Thackeray also mocked Manmohan Singh's remark that "money does not grow on trees".

Why is the government making concessions for the minorities and splurging on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) as food security if the country is indeed facing a financial crisis, Thackeray demanded to know.

"We cannot say if the prime minister's hands are strong. But the people of the country are strong and will definitely drag the Congress out of power," he averred.

OneIndia News