Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Monday mouthed the Congress' oft-repeated jibe of "chowkidar chor hai" made in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal to mount a veiled attack on his senior ally -- the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly hurling the "chowkidar chor hai" (the guard is a thief) jibe at Modi to claim irregularities and favouritism in the Rafale deal and award of offset contracts related to the Rs 58,000-crore defence agreement with France. However, the government has rejected the charges.
'Paharekari' is a Marathi equivalent of the Hindi word chowkidar.
Thackeray and his party have been often criticising the BJP and its top leaders, including Modi, on a range of issues. However, this was perhaps for the first time a BJP ally has publicly made the "chowkidar chor hai" taunt.
The origin of this line dates back to the run-up of the 2014 general elections when Modi had promised to work as a 'chowkidar' to guard the people's money and their trust once elected to the top office.