Uddhav 'dummy CM' as he needs Sonia & Pawar's nod: Mungantiwar

Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday dubbed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a "dummy CM", saying he has to seek approval of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar before taking any decision.

Mungantiwar was talking to reporters outside the Vidhan Bhawan in Nagpur, where the winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature is currently on.

"The Congress and NCP have installed a dummy chief minister. Before taking any decision, the CM is required to take approval from Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar," he said.

"That is why, rather than giving answers to questions raised by us in the House, he talks about national issues, generally raised during public meetings," he said.

Mungantiwar said he empathises with Thackeray for joining hands with Congress and NCP.

"I feel empathy for Uddhav Thackeray, as once whose face used to glow, has now gone pale. This is the result of the company he is keeping," the former state minister said.

"People have seen a dummy CM today. He should get away from the shackles of Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar," he added.

The BJP and Sena, which fought the October 21 Assembly polls in alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly.

However, the state witnessed a political crisis after the Sena broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP when the latter declined to share the chief minister's post.

Finally, the Sena, NCP and Congress came together to form a government headed by Uddhav Thackeray, who took oath as CM on November 28.