`Raj Thackeray, Uddhav bonhomie won`t impact NCP`

Rapprochement between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray will not impact Nationalist Congress Party.

Vadodara: Rapprochement between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray who heads Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will not impact Nationalist Congress Party and its alliance with the Congress in the state, Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said here on Friday.

The NCP leader was on a short visit to the city on a social engagement. Taking to reporters, Patil said, "The NCP-Congress alliance has been getting elected for the last two terms. So it won`t affect them if Uddhav and Raj come together." He was replying to a question about Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray hinting that he was open to the possibility of his party joining hands with the MNS. He refused to make any comment on the suitability of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the post of the prime minister, saying that it is an internal matter of the BJP and that there are many claimants for the post in that party. "Sharad Pawar, the founder-president of the NCP and union agriculture minister is a seasoned politician with high stature and he deserves to be the prime minister," he said, but did not elaborate on it. He said that efforts to extradite David Coleman Headley from the US to India are being made, adding that after Kasab, it is Headley who deserves to be executed. On controversy around the release of movie Vishwaroopam, he said there is no problem, since it has been approved by the Censor Board. PTI