Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said he prevailed on BJP leader L K Advani not to remove Narendra Modi from the chief ministerial chair in Gujarat after the Godhra riots.

“Modi gaya to Gujarat gaya (If Modi is gone, Gujarat will also slip out of BJP hands),” Thackeray claimed as telling Advani at the Mayor’s bungalow here.

“There were hectic moves to remove Modi from the post after the Godhra riots. We clearly told Advani that Gujarat will be lost if Modi is removed,” Thackeray in an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said today.

Thackeray also objected to BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde equating Modi’s leadership with that of his late brother-in-law Pramod Mahajan. “Why compare Mahajan and Modi?”, he asked.

“BJP is not going to get another Mahajan and his absence would always be felt by the party,” Thackeray said.