Bal Thackeray passes away: PM calls Uddhav Thackeray to offer condolences

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday called Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to offer condolences upon the death of his father Bal Keshav Thackeray. PM also cancelled his scheduled dinner with Opposition leaders.

"The passing away of Bala Saheb will be deeply felt by his family and followers," Singh said. He appealed for calm and sobriety during 'this period of loss and mourning.'

Also check: ET Special: Bal Thackeray’s life and times from Times of India archives

Speaking on Thackeray, Manmohan Singh said, "He was a consummate communicator whose stature in the politics of Maharashtra was unique. For him the interests of Maharashtra were particularly important and he always strived to inculcate a sense of pride in its people."

"He founded the Shiv Sena and built the party into a formidable force in the State politics with his strong leadership," he added.

Bal Thackeray breathed his last at 3.33 pm at his residence "Matoshree' on Saturday. He was 86 years old. Thackeray had been critically ill for the last few days.

A rabble-rouser, the Shiv Sena supremo was idolised with almost God-like devotion by his frenzied sainiks and demonised in equal measure by detractors.

Born on January 23, 1926, he was the second of four children of Kesav Sitaram Thackeray, a writer who actively participated in the 'Samyukta Maharashtra Andolan' -- the movement for creation of a separate state for Marathi-speaking people with Bombay as its capital.