'Betrayal' - BJP on Sena stand for Prez poll

The rift between BJP and Shiv Sena on the issue of the Presidential polls took a serious turn today as the saffron party accused its oldest ideological ally from Maharasthra of entering into a deal with the Congress by supporting the UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil.

BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde alleged that Shiv Sena has betrayed his party by not backing the NDA-supported candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

"This is betrayal. The Shiv Sena is into a deal with the Congress," Munde remarked alleging the alliance partner had agreed to throw its weight behind Patil in exchange for a promise that its former leader Narayan Rane would never be appointed as Chief Minister of Maharasthra.

He dismissed as fake the Shiv Sena's Maratha-pride argument recalling that the party had not supported Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde, a Maharashtrian, in the last election for the Vice-President. "At that point of time, it supported Shekhawat. Where was their Maratha-pride then?" he asked.

Munde also named a number of Shiv Sena members from the Rajya Sabha who he said were all non-Maharashtrians.