Uddhav Thackeray Uses “chowkidar chor hai” Slogan To Attack Modi

Mumbai :  Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray attacks his senior ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the Congress party’s oft-repeated jibe of “chowkidar chor hai” made in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal to mount a veiled.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly claimed that the “chowkidar chor hai” (guard is a thief) on Modi, claiming irregularity and favoritism in the Raphael deal and award of offset contracts related to France’s defense agreement worth 58,000 crore rupees. The government however, dismissed the allegations.

While addressing a rally in this temple town of Solapur district, Thackeray used slogans in a different context describing an incident.

“The farmer told me that for the first time in his lifetime, he had seen a lime tree getting infested, which they have been using to make pesticides. I had told him that now, days have changed. Security persons have become thieves.”

“Halli paharekarich chorya karaylaa laagale aahet. (Today, security persons have themselves become thieves),” he said in Marathi.

Thackeray, whose costume center and Maharashtra are also part of BJP-led governments, did not take any name, but his comments did not have any significance.

Thackeray and his party have often been criticizing many issues of BJP and its top leaders including Modi. However, this was probably the first time that a BJP ally had taunted the “chowkidar thieves”.

In the rally, Thackeray also said, “There are many allegations about the Rafael fighter jet deal and I do not know how the Supreme Court has cleared it. But I know that the Modi Government has refused to increase the wages for the jawans.”

(With PTI Inputs)