In the third and concluding part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Thackeray also accused the BJP of "betraying" him and said his 'hindutva' ideology was different from that the BJP as he did not want an unstable 'Hindu Rashtra' where governments are toppled and there is communal tension. To a question, he said the (Supreme Court's) decision on Ram temple was according to the Constitution. 

He also said the future of his Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress,was "good". NCP chief Sharad Pawar was the MVA government's "guide" and not remote controlling it, he said, adding that he will visit Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Referring to the Koregaon Bhima violence case, Thackeray said the Centre has all rights to step into the probe, but it should have taken the state government into confidence before handing over the investigation to NIA.

"I was surprised by the Centre's decision. Doesn't the Centre trust the state's investigating agencies. Due to such incidents, there is a problem in Centre-state relations," he said while speaking to Saamana's executive editor Sanjay Raut. Thackeray said the probe in the case was handed over to NIA when Pawar was demanding an inquiry into it by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). -- PTI

Image: File pic of the protests at Bhima Koregaon in 2018.