Thackeray wants Aamir show telecast in Karnataka

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Tuesday asked the Karnataka government to allow the telecast of Bollywood star Aamir Khan's maiden television show "Satyameva Jayate".

While hitting out at the BJP government in Karnataka, Thackeray lavishly praised Aamir's show which went on air last Sunday and secured thumbs up around the country.

In an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna Tuesday, Thackeray said that Karnataka's decision on grounds that the show was unacceptable to Kannada film makers showed that parochialism had overtaken patriotism.

"The point is Aamir Khan is not like Shah Rukh Khan or other Khans who found nothing wrong in Pakistan cricketers playing in India," he said.

"(Aamir's) programmes and movies always dwell on patriotism and love for the country. They always inspire the youth.

"This show must not be tied up in parochial chains or barred from the public. This is our view," Thackeray said, urging the Karnataka government to permit its telecast.

He took the opportunity to hit out at Karnataka for its attempts to gag the Marathis in the state even as a long-pending boundary dispute with Maharashtra awaits a solution.