Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today hit out at former president APJ Abdul Kalam for making a statement after so many years that he was ready to swear in Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister after the 2004 polls; calling him "hypocrite" and "shallow". 

Another NDA member, JD(U), had targeted Kalam over the issue yesterday.  "After saying that he was ready to swear in Italian Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Kalam has become a laughing stock", Thackeray claimed in the editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana. 

In his recently published book `Turning Points', Kalam has revealed that he was ready to swear in Sonia Gandhi in 2004, despite intense opposition from some quarters. 

"By making this disclosure after so many years, Kalam has lost the place he had in people's hearts and from their point of view, he is now a hypocrite and shallow", Thackeray said. "Till now, it was widely speculated that Kalam, as the President, had stopped Sonia Gandhi from becoming Prime Minister. Due to this single act, he was admired by the country, and the admiration continued even when he was no longer the President", Thackeray said.