Shiv Sena joins Naidu's protest against Centre over denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh

Shiv Sena, the disgruntled ally of NDA, on Monday joined the day-long protest called by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu against the Centre here over the denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh.

With Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut sharing dais with the opposition leaders including Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, the event had seemingly political overtones ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls.

"We are with N Chandrababu Naidu for the demand he is pressing for his state. Every state has its own role to play and every state has its own demands. We may have ideological differences but if the chief minister of a state is sitting on 'dharna' for his state, we must support the cause," said Raut.

"My leader Uddhav Thackeray told me to go and support N Chandrababu Naidu. We will think about politics later on," said Raut.

Naidu said that Shiv Sena is not happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked Shiv Sena for its support. "Uddhav Thackeray is the best friend of mine. Even Bal Thackeray was very affectionate towards me. I really appreciate Shiv Sena chief for extending his cooperation," said Naidu.