'Don't attach much importance to Thackerays'

Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday asked people not to attach much importance to what the Thackerays say and accused the family members of fighting among themselves to strengthen their political base in Maharashtra.

"Don't attach much importance to what they say. It is their family problem, to strengthen their (respective) political base," the former Maharashtra chief minister said when asked to respond to Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray's alleged anti-North Indian stance.

"It reflects how low their (the Thackerays') thoughts are. And the whole thing gets aggravated when TV channels keep playing one or two incidents repeatedly," Deshmukh said.

Asserting that Mumbai is an international cosmopolitan city and there is no threat to any resident, he said the name 'Maharashtra' signifies a state having a large heart (Maha Rashtra) and that "the trivial opinion of a handful of people should be ignored with disdain".

On Bal Thackeray's repeated comments in the Shiv Sena mouth piece 'Saamna', Deshmukh said a bunch of petitions have been pending before different courts against his write-ups.

"Despite freedom of the press, write-ups should be within the legally prescribed limits. And several cases are pending against it (for Saamna write-up), even (Congress leader) Narayan Rane has recently written to the Election Commission to de-recognise such parties," he said.