Uddhav Thackeray uses "chowkidar chor hai" slogan to attack Modi
Pandharpur (Maha), Dec 24: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Monday mouthed the Congress' oft-repeated jibe of "chowkidar chor hai" made in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal to mount a veiled attack on his senior ally -- the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly hurling the "chowkidar chor hai" (the guard is a thief) jibe at Modi to claim irregularities and favouritism in the Rafale deal and award of offset contracts related to the Rs 58,000-crore defence agreement with France. However, the government has rejected the charges.
Addressing a rally in this temple town in Solapur district, Thackeray used the slogan in a different context while narrating an incident.
Thackeray said, "In one of the state tours, a farmer showed me a pest-infested lime tree. The lime tree is actually used to make pesticides but this was a plant that was infested with pest.
"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.
'Paharekari' is a Marathi equivalent of the Hindi word chowkidar.
Thackeray, whose outfit is part of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and also in Maharashtra, did not take any names, but the significance of his comments was not lost on anyone.
Thackeray and his party have been often criticising the BJP and its top leaders, including Modi, on a range of issues. However, this was perhaps for the first time a BJP ally has publicly made the "chowkidar chor hai" taunt.
The origin of this line dates back to the run-up of the 2014 general elections when Modi had promised to work as a 'chowkidar' to guard the people's money and their trust once elected to the top office.
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Karnataka Guv to halve convoy size following PM Modi's austerity call
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday reduced the size of his official convoy to the minimum required strength following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call.
In a post on 'X', the Lok Bhavan said Gehlot had taken the step in response to the Prime Minister's appeal for fuel conservation and reduction in foreign exchange expenditure amid the West Asia crisis.
"Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has reduced his convoy to the minimum required strength, following Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's appeal," the post said.
The move comes days after Modi, while addressing a rally organised by the BJP in Hyderabad, called for several measures aimed at conserving foreign exchange and reducing dependence on imports amid tensions in West Asia.
The Prime Minister had urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, use metro rail services in cities, adopt carpooling, increase the use of electric vehicles and utilise railway services for parcel transportation. He had also suggested working from home wherever possible to conserve fuel and foreign exchange.
Modi further appealed to people to postpone the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year, reduce edible oil consumption, lower dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote natural farming and swadeshi products to strengthen self-reliance and conserve foreign exchange.
