Munde on Chavan's Sena dig: CM living in fool's paradise

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde on Monday criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's statement that Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray would lose his clout after the February 16 civic polls in the state saying he was "living in fool's paradise".

"There have been many chief ministers (of the Congress) in Maharashtra who could not finish Bal Thackeray. Those who think they can, are living in fool's paradise," he told reporters in Pune.

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Munde, who was in the city to campaign for ensuing Pune civic poll for which the BJP-Shiv Sena- Republican Party of India have forged an alliance to fight the Congress and NCP, also took a potshot at Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar saying that his utterances were not matching the strength of his "state-level" party which had its pockets mainly in Pune-Kolhapur belt. "Pawar too has been playing to the gallery and talking about ending Thackeray's influence in this election," he added.

The vision of the NCP president was confined only to Lavasa and the Board Of Control For Cricket In India, he remarked.

Meanwhile, BJP Maharashtra president Sudhir Mungantiwar who on Monday released the BJP's manifesto for the Pune Municipal Corporation election, said Pawar had no moral right to attack the BJP for "porngate" in Karnataka assembly as NCP was harbouring elements accused of sexual crimes.

"We have taken action against the erring ministers and our stand is clear on the issue," he said when his attention was drawn to Pawar's comment that the Karnataka assembly incident had tarnished the image of the BJP.