"I am not against Chhath Puja. But what I oppose is that it is used as a means of show of strength," he said.

While hitting out at North Indians, Thackeray did not even spare Hindi and English channels and he barred them from covering his press conference, alleging they were giving a distorted picture about him.

Thackeray alleged that while covering his news, the channels, especially the Hindi ones, were behaving in a partisan manner supporting North Indians in its coverage.

He also criticised them for speculating about his possible arrest. "The police have not taken any action against me, the court has not found me guilty, but these channels are reporting with preconceived notion that I am guilty. This is the reason that I have barred them from covering this press conference," he added.