Thursday, January 20 2005 16:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: hiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, a known detractor of NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) Chief Sharad Pawar, today (Jan 20, 2005) said he still considers him as his "friend" and if both were together in Maharashtra then no one would have dared to go against them and they would have had an upper hand in national politics.

Criticising Pawar for joining hands with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Thackeray in an interview to Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' said, "The fact is a Maratha from Maharashtra has become slave of the foreign lady. At least, Maratha leaders should not have done that. Pawar has become infamous due to this".

"The NCP chief could not stick to any particular principle. Now, he is with Sonia Gandhi. He has never been firm on any stand," Thackeray said in the interview being published in the daily in three parts starting today.

However, he said, "I still consider Pawar as my friend and it is because of politics that their cordial relations turned sour" and added it was unfortunate they have developed distance from each other.

"I did not like his politics. It is because of his wrong politics that I criticized him," the Sena leader said.

He said if they were together then no one would have dared to play politics with them and they would have had an upper hand in national politics.