PM should campaign for all parties during elections: Thackeray

Mumbai, Aug 13: Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his whirlwind poll rallies, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said today he should address election meetings of all parties and not just the BJP.

He said the prime minister, a star campaigner for the BJP in elections, and also chief ministers, should treat all as equal.

"While being sworn-in, the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers take oath that they will treat everyone as equal.

"Why should the prime minister go only for the BJP (poll) campaign?" he said, speaking at the 58th anniversary function of the weekly magazine 'Marmik' this evening.

"They (prime ministers) should go for poll campaign of all (parties). They should attend the poll campaign of the Shiv Sena, independents and Communists," Thackeray said.

He made a veiled reference to BJP president Amit Shah writing to the Law Commission, pitching various benefits of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the country.

"One nation, one election is nice. If democracy has to take root in our country, then the Election Commission should ban prime minister, chief ministers and ministers from (participating in) poll campaigns," Thackeray said.

"The prime minister says he will give houses for all by 2022. If someone objects, he will say that person has negativity," Thackeray said.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the popular "achhe din" slogan of the BJP has become a "gale mein haddi" (bone stuck in neck) for the NDA government, he said.

He referred to Modi announcing a financial aid of Rs 1,000 crore for the IIT-Bombay during its 56th annual convocation here on Saturday and said the BJP-led government in the state is ignoring the adjoining Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.

The corporation has not got even a single penny of the Rs 6,500 crore that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had promised in 2015, the Sena chief said.

PTI