Raising the decibel level in the war of words which has seen several dramatis personae including the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Home Minister LK Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes and State Home Minister Gopinath Munde pitching in, Thackeray said in an interview to Star News this evening: ``Now it is for the BJP to decide whether they would like to continue with the alliance or not. The ball is in their court, not in our court. We are waiting to see which way they will retaliate, if they want to break it, let them break. If they don't, then good. If worse comes to worse, we are prepared for anything.''

Obviously alluding to the Prime Minister's statement that the Centre would ensure there was no obstruction tothe tour, Thackeray reiterated, ``I am not prepared to change my stand and Pakistani cricketers will not be allowed to play at any cost in Maharashtra.''

Thackeray has opposed the tour on the ground that Pakistan was abetting terrorism in J&K and also indulging in subversive acts in rest of the country.

The tussle over the cricket tour has badly soured ties between the two alliance partners. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde's statement on Sunday reiterating that Pakistani cricketers would be given full protection and that politics should not be brought in sport has brought the row to a flashpoint.

Thackeray was very critical of Union Defence Minister George Fernandes for his statement at Patna yesterday that his utterances on the Pakistani cricket team should not be taken seriously as he was apt to change his views.``You (Fernandes) have changed your party, but you are accusing me of changing my views,'' he quipped.

At a rally yesterday, Fernandes had said, ``that he knew Thackeray forthe last forty years as one who could tell something in the morning and the other in the evening.

He said Indo-Pak relations were bound to strengthen the way the bilateral discussions were under way and nothing could hamper the progress.

Answering him back, Thackeray retorted ``This George Fernandes had said something that whatever I say in the morning I change in the evening. I say to him, you have changed your party and you are accusing me of changing my views,'' he asked. Other Shiv Sena leaders too preferred to toe Thackeray's line.

At a meeting convened by Udhav Thackeray following the decision of Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde to provide protection to the Pakistani cricket team, a consensus was reached that the Shiv Sena should withdraw from the Central and the state government in the interest of Hindus.

Sources opined that Vajpayee's declaration had clearly established the growing doubt within the Shiv Sena that the BJP was pro-Muslim and hence they should pull out of the government.

Onthe other hand, though the BJP leaders were surprised at the sudden stridency in Thackeray's, tone they dismissed his diatribe as pressure tactics to consolidate the Hindu votebank. ``Since the chief minister is a Sena man, we don't think that Thackeray will take a hasty decision at this juncture,'' said a senior leader. ``At the most he might take up the issue with the prime minister,'' he added.

More significantly, they pointed out that after his resolve to oppose the Pakistanis playing anywhere in the country, Thackeray has now come down to stopping them in the state, which interestingly, is unlikely to host any match.