LS polls a fight between Modi, Shah and nation: Raj Thackeray

The upcoming Lok Sabha elections is a fight between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said Tuesday.

Slamming the BJP-led government, Thackeray asked how was India was in a position to fight Pakistan when the Centre was "begging" for money from the Reserve Bank of India.

"Nobody is ready to answer my questions. They do not have the answers to the questions the country is asking and, therefore, are indulging in gimmicks like 'chowkidar'. What happened to the promise of providing two crore jobs?" he said while addressing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers here.

Thackeray, who has already announced that the MNS will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, asked his party workers to get ready for Maharashtra Assembly polls later this year.

"Fourteen thousand farmers in the state have committed suicide since 2014. The Prime Minister does not have time to meet their families," he claimed.

Thackeray claimed Modi had shown a false picture of Gujarat's development prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections of 2014, which caused him to support the BJP then.

"The person called Modi changed, so I changed my stand," he said.

"Where is the money to fight Pakistan? The government is begging RBI for money. Then how were they planning for war against Pakistan? The Centre had asked RBI for Rs 3 lakh crore, out of which it was given 28,000 crore. This was not acceptable to (former RBI governor) Urjit Patel so he resigned," he said.

"This fight is not against any particular party, but against Modi and Shah. The country is in danger," he said.

Thackeray claimed the BJP will indulge in giving poll bribes during the run-up to the elections, and asked his party workers to accept the money since the ruling party had looted the country in the last 5 years.