Thackeray has lost mental balance, hits back Cong

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress on Wednesday lashed out at Bal Thackeray for indulging in 'personal attacks' on general secretary Rahul Gandhi and president Sonia Gandhi and alleged that the Shiv Sena supremo seems to have lost his 'mental balance' following the party's electoral defeats.

"The Sena chief appears to have lost his mental balance after his party's defeat in the recent elections. By indulging in a personal attack on Rahul, he has crossed all limits of decency," said Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari.

He said if Thackeray continued with his tirade, he would be forced to face questions on the 'suspicious' death of his son and the exit of his daughter-in-law from his house.

The Congress leader claimed the Sena leader had been attacking leading personalities like Mukesh Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Gandhi to grab media attention.

Tewari also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to clarify the status of its ties with Shiv Sena after the latter's attack on north Indians.

The All India Congress Committee general secretary had flayed the Sena for its tirade against people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, telling them that the National Security Guard men who vanquished terrorists during 26/11 were also from the rest of the country.

Stepping up its attack on Rahul for the 'Mumbai for all Indians' remark and raking up Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, party supremo Bal Thackeray said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, "Mumbai may belong to all Indians but how can it belong to an Italian mummy."

Meanwhile, the top brass of the Congress maintained a studied silence on the attack by the Shiv Sena.

"We would not like to dignify these undignified remarks with a response," party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.

"We strongly condemn any attempt to polarise our nation on chauvinistic lines and regional identity and any attempts to create discord and disaffection among citizens of different states," she said.

"We will call upon the people of the country to reject the ideology of hate and divisiveness spread by the Shiv Sena," she said.

The Congress stood for unity and integrity of the country and was committed to the idea of India, Natarajan said. The party would 'strain every nerve' to ensure that the country's unity and integrity is not compromised and the Constitution is upheld in letter and spirit, she said.

She said every citizen of India had the right to move freely and to live and work in any part of the country.

Asked about the Sena tearing down posters of Shah Rukh Khan's film 'My Name is Khan', Natarajan said this was part of the culture of violence and hatred perpetrated by the party.

Condemning the act, the Congress leader called upon the authorities in Maharashtra to take legal action to bring those involved to justice.