Taking a U-turn from his stand of appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday criticised him for his “divisive politics.” Addressing a rally in the city, Mr. Thackeray asked whether Mr. Modi was the Prime Minister of India or of Gujarat.

“I was the first person to support him for his prime ministerial bid. I had thought he would change after becoming the PM, but he is not willing to talk of anything else but Gujarat. I still appreciate him for the work done in Gujarat, but what kind of message is he sending to the world?” Mr. Thackeray asked.

He questioned why the entertainment programme in the U.S. was Garba dance, and why U.S. President Barack Obama talked to Mr. Modi in Gujarati, instead of Hindi.

“I felt proud of Mr. Modi’s U.S. visit. But what is his hidden agenda?” he asked, with the poser whether he represented Gujarat or India.

“The world should know him as India’s Prime Minister, not as Gujarat’s Prime Minister.” He also criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, and accused her of trying to rob Maharashtra of its industrialists.

“While Mr. Modi speaks of development for Mumbai and Maharashtra, Ms. Patel asks businessmen in Mumbai why they wish to continue investing here. ‘You waste half a day in traffic here. What work will you do in the remaining day? Why are you investing here? Gujarat is close-by. Invest there,’ she told industrialists here,” he claimed.

He also questioned Mr. Modi’s announcement of starting a high speed train service from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

“Why will a Marathi person go to Ahmedabad? What will he do there? What is the purpose of starting such a service then? You are behaving like the CM of Gujarat,” he added