Rajnath tells Thackeray jr to stop 'smear' campaign

The recent strain in the relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP has taken a new turn. BJP President Rajnath Singh today called on Sena's Working President Uddhav Thackeray and complained about the alleged smear campaign against the state BJP leadership in Samna, the Sena's mouthpiece.

A senior Sena leader confirmed that Singh called on Thackeray and complained about the campaign against the BJP leadership. However, Singh was not at all aggressive, he said.

But Thackeray remained firm and told Singh that he was being mislead and if there were any critical references to any BJP leader without reason, they should be pointed out to him, the leader claimed.

In a recent interview given to Samna, Thackeray said, "The results of the presidential elections are a big slap on those who opposed the candidate of Pratibha Patil and those who ran a character assasination campaign against her." He also accused the state BJP leadership of working against the interests of Maharashtrians.

Many Samna editorials since the byelection to the Chimur Assembly seat last year (where the BJP forced the Sena to leave the seat but was defeated) have carried uncharitable remarks against us, according to a senior BJP leader from the state.