Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray today (Apr 23, 2004) charged the ruling Democratic Front (DF) coalition with raking up the controversy over Chhatrapati Shivaji in order to divert the attention of the people from the multi-crore Telgi scam and "non performance" of the Government in the last four years.

The DF Government had not done anything worth mentioning for the betterment of the masses during its existing tenure and was now trying to divert the attention of the people, he told reporters in an interview.

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"Those who talk about Shivaji and pretend to cherish his ideals do not know history well," Thackeray said hitting out at NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) president Sharad Pawar.

Thackeray took a dig at Pawar for expressing in a section of the media that Kanhoji Angre was the Navy chief during Shivaji's tenure.

According to Thackeray, Angre was the Navy commander of Rajaram Maharaj who ruled after Shivaji's son Sambhaji.

Angre came on the scene twenty years after Shivaji passed away.

He dared Pawar to check out the historical facts before divulging in public. Thackeray said two brothers from Ratnagiri, namely Mendhaji Bhatkar and Mainak Bhandari, were with Angre in his naval team and none of them existed during Shivaji's tenure.

Thackeray, who just returned from a campaign tour of the State, said the BJP-Shiv Sena would bag more than 30 seats in the Lok Sabha polls and added that he received overwhelming response from the public at his meetings.