‘If not Shivaji, then will marathis invoke quattrocchi?’

If Marathi people are not to invoke Shivaji Maharaj’s name should they invoke that of Ottavio Quattrocchi, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray asked, flaying Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s remarks at a recent rally in Maharashtra.

If Marathi people are not to invoke Shivaji Maharaj’s name should they invoke that of Ottavio Quattrocchi, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray asked, flaying Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s remarks at a recent rally in Maharashtra.

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In an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray said: “Sonia remarked that political parties are misusing Shivaji’s name.”

“If Marathi people are not to invoke Shivaji Maharaj’s name, then should they invoke the name of Ottavio Quattrocchi of Bofors fame,” he said.

“To fight for the rights of Marathi people has become a crime (in the eyes of Sena detractors) and to invoke Shivaji’s name is considered parochial in the Congress regime,” Thackeray said.

“Does Sonia Gandhi understand Maharashtra,” the Sena chief asked. About Petroleum minister Murli Deora, Thackeray said, “Deora does not have as much concern for Maharashtra’s pride as he has for Mukesh Ambani.”