Bal Thackeray hits out at Kalam, calls him hypocrite

Mumbai - Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday hit out at former president APJ Abdul Kalam for making a statement after so many years that he was ready to swear in Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister after the 2004 polls; calling him "hypocrite" and "shallow".

Another NDA member, JD(U), had targeted Kalam over the issue on Sunday. "After saying that he was ready to swear in Italian Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Kalam has become a laughing stock", Thackeray claimed in the editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamna'.

In his recently published book 'Turning Points', Kalam has revealed that he was ready to swear in Sonia Gandhi in 2004, despite intense opposition from some quarters.

"By making this disclosure after so many years, Kalam has lost the place he had in people's hearts and from their point of view, he is now a hypocrite and shallow", Thackeray said.

"Till now, it was widely speculated that Kalam, as the President, had stopped Sonia Gandhi from becoming Prime Minister. Due to this single act, he was admired by the country, and the admiration continued even when he was no longer the President", Thackeray said.

"Kalam could have made this clarification ten (sic) years ago. But he kept quiet due to selfish interests", he said.

The nuclear blast he executed at Pokhran did not benefit the country, and his latest "blast" about Sonia has led to the maligning of India's image in the global stage, Thackeray asserted.

"People in the NDA were bent on making Kalam President again. Had he become NDA's Presidential nominee and made this disclosure, it would have led to defamation of the NDA", the Sena chief claimed.

"Now, we are sceptical whether he really carried out the nuclear explosion at Pokhran", the editorial doubted.