Mumbai, Jan 8 (IANS): Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Sunday attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi by raking up her foreign origin and also questioned party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's prime ministerial ambitions.Thackeray said that for every little thing, there are controversies in the country. "The country's reputation is lost in all this", he said in an interview to party mouthpiece Saamna published Sunday.

"The question of Sonia's reputation does not arise because she is a foreigner. What love will she have for this country and what is her contribution here," Thackeray asked.

Referring to young Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, Thackeray noted: "He was born yesterday and wants to be prime minister today. Is the PM-ship some kind of a game? Is the PM's post up for auction? Everything is indeed strange."

He said the entire country's atmosphere had been "polluted" and made "horrendous" by the Congress. "I have always maintained that we are on the brink of non-governance," he said.

The interview marks the aged leader's 86th birthday scheduled to be celebrated Jan 23, barely a fortnight before the crucial civic elections are scheduled across Maharashtra.

When the robust-looking Thackeray was asked the secret of his good health, he shot back: "I eat when I feel hungry, but if I reveal my secret, all these Congressmen will emulate it and that will do no good the country."