Thackerays Step Up 'Rasmalai' Attack, Fire "Impotence" Jab At BJP Leaders

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has stepped up the attack on BJP leader K Annamalai and also questioned why the BJP in Maharashtra had not slammed his "anti-Maharashtra" remarks.

Annamalai, a former IPS officer and former chief of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, visited Mumbai last week to campaign for the upcoming election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Addressing a gathering, he said Mumbai needs a triple engine administration -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, Devendra Fadnavis at the state and a BJP mayor in BMC.

"Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city. The budget of this city is Rs 75,000 crore. Chennai's budget is Rs 8,000 crore, while Bengaluru's budget is Rs 19,000 crore. So you need good people in the administration to manage the finance and to manage the development," he said.

Thackeray brothers Uddhav and Raj, who have reunited for the BMC polls, slammed Annamalai's remarks. While Uddhav said he had revealed the BJP's hidden agenda, Raj referred to Annamalai as "Rasmalai" - after the sweet dish and questioned his standing to speak about Mumbai's issues.

Hitting back, Annamalai asked who Raj Thackeray is to threaten him. "I am proud to be a farmer's son. They have organised meetings just to abuse me. I don't know whether I have become that important," he told the media in Chennai.

"Some have written that they will cut my legs if I come to Mumbai. I will come to Mumbai -- try cutting my legs. If I were afraid of such threats, I would have stayed in my village," he said.

"If I say Kamaraj is one of India's greatest leaders, does it mean he is no longer a Tamil? If I say Mumbai is a world-class city, does it mean Maharashtrians didn't build it? These people are just ignorant," Annamalai has said.

Shiv Sena (UBT)'s mouthpiece Saamana has now written an editorial that Annamalai is a traitor to Tamils too. "Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have fought shoulder to shoulder against Hindi imposition," an editorial said.

Targeting Maharashtra's BJP leaders, it said, "If BJP can't condemn statements of Annamalai and Kripashankar Singh, why shouldn't they be called impotent?" Kripashankar Singh, a BJP leader, had earlier said Mumbai's next Mayor would be a Hindi speaker, triggering a row.

"Many Marathi BJP leaders were around when the anti-Maharashtra Rasmalai was poured, but they didn't react, that's a sign of impotence," the Saamana editorial said.