After the heat and dust over his arrest, Union Minister Narayan Rane on Friday resumed his “Jan Ashirwad Yatra” by demanding to know as to what kind of bravery the Shiv Sena-led MVA Government displayed when it arrested him like a “dacoit” "or a "robber" using such a huge police force at a time when it is supposed to be addressing the problems of the people.
Resuming the third phase of his “Jan Ashirwad Yatra” at Ratnagiri in coastal Konkan region, a belligerent Rane trained his guns at his bête noir and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, by saying: “You arrested a Union Minister like you arrest a dacoit and that too using a police force of 250 personnel. What kind of bravery it was, doing such a thing when the people are distressed, farm loan waiver has not happened and flood-affected people have not received relief?”.
Rane -- who was apparently still bitter about the manner in which he was arrested from Sangameshwar in Ratnagiri district on Tuesday “tight-slap-slur” against Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray – vowed not to spare ruling Shiv Sena.
“Your Government has no money to compensate the flood-affected people. What kind of things do you say against me? I am not going to spare you. If you want to dig into my past, please do. You have been digging into my past for the last two years. But you have not found anything against me.. I also know your past. How were Ramesh More and Jaya Jadhav murdered?," he asked.
“Who ordered the acid attack on the sister-in-law? Why is the Sushant Singh Rajpurt death case not closed yet? Why is Disha Salian's death still a mystery? I will unravel all these things layer by layer. As much of law you know, we also know..Don’t step on my toes..I will roar once again as I used to do in the coming days,” Rane said.
Rane was responding to a fiery editorial published against him in the Shiv Sena’s official mouth-piece “Saamana” on Thursday demanded to know “who was responsible for the disappearances of persons like Shridhar Naik, Ramesh Govekar, Satyavijay Bhise and Ankush Rane (Narayan Rane’s cousin)?” and demanded a fresh probe into these cases by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Launching a counter attack against Rane, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut demanded to know: “Who killed your cousin Ankush Rane? After killing him, who put Ankush Rane’s body in a car and set the vehicle on fire?.. Do we not know it was premeditated murder? Don’t you remember your son went to Chintu Shaikh’s home and opened fire? Don't you remember your current colleague and former chief minister Narayan Rane had spoken about your misdeeds in the State Assembly and council?”
Responding to Rane’s “why was a Union Minister arrested like a dacoit?” remark, Raut said: “Why should a situation involving the arrest of a Union Minister arise in the first place? From his speeches now, it is clear now that Rane has violated the conditions set by the Mahad court judge while releasing him on bail. If someone commits, the police will definitely arrest him”.
Raut had on Tuesday written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding his removal from the union council-of-ministers, into which he the BJP Rajya Sabha MP has been recently inducted.
“Rane does not deserve to remain in the Cabinet because of the kind of language he has used against a Chief Minister....Such kind of language is an insult to the Prime Minister as well...I believe a person like Rane, who forgets the post he is representing, has no right to continue on it. It is my humble request to you to seek his resignation and remove him from your cabinet,” Raut wrote.
Hitting back at Raut, Rane wondered: “If I were such a notorious criminal, why was I made a chief minister by the Shiv Sena?”
Rane – who had been associated with the Shiv Sena since the early seventies, Rane was anointed by late Sena chief Bal Thackeray as the chief minister of Maharashtra, a post he held between February 1, 1999 and October 17, 1999 when the Sena-BJP alliance was ruling the state.
It may be recalled Rane was arrested in the midst of his “Jan Ashirward Yatra” at Sangameshwar for his “tight slap” remark against Uddhav Thackeray.
Rane was later released on bail by Mahad court against a personal bond of Rs 15,000. However, earlier while remanding him to magisterial custody for 10 days, had observed that the police were “justified” in arresting him.
Subsequently on Wednesday, Rane received a further relief in the Bombay High Court, as the Maharashtra government informed the court that “no coercive action” would be taken against him till September 17 in the FIR registered against him for his remarks against the chief minister.
Rane has been booked for his controversial remarks against the chief minister, by way of multiple FIRs under Sections 153A(2) (promoting enmity causing disharmony in society), 500 (defamation) and 505(2) (inciting violence) of the Indian Penal Code.
Talking to media persons during the course of “Jan Aashirwad Yatra”, Rane had on Monday slammed the chief minister by saying: “What kind of a chief minister do we have? He does not know anything about our Independence Day. He does not know many years have gone by since India got Independence. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap”.