Nadda calls Rane’s arrest ‘unconstitutional’; Sena expresses faith in police

BJP leader Prasad Lad alleged that the minister was ‘manhandled’ by the police. Another BJP leader Pramod Jathar earlier claimed that the Ratnagiri police officials were ‘under tremendous pressure’ to arrest Rane.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Tuesday condemned the arrest of Union minister Narayan Rane. Rane was arrested in Ratnagiri’s Sangameshwar for allegedly insulting Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Rane claimed that Thackeray forgot the year of India’s independence during his speech on August 15. Rane made the remarks on Monday during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra rally.

Narayan Rane was arrested by Ratnagiri Police on Monday(PTI)

Meanwhile, BJP chief JP Nadda condemned the arrest of the minister and called it ‘unconstitutional’. He said that the BJP will not be scared despite the arrest and called it a reaction to the ‘support the newly inducted Cabinet ministers were getting in the Jan Ashirwad Yatra’.

“The arrest of Union Minister Narayan Rane ji by the Maharashtra government is a violation of constitutional values. We will neither be scared nor be suppressed by any such action. These people are troubled by the immense support the BJP is getting in the Jan-Aashirvad Yatra. We will continue to fight democratically. The journey will continue,” Nadda said on Twitter.

BJP leader Prasad Lad alleged that the minister was ‘manhandled’ by the police. Another BJP leader Pramod Jathar earlier claimed that the Ratnagiri police officials were ‘under tremendous pressure’ to arrest Rane. “Rane was arrested while he was having lunch. The arrest is illegal. We are afraid that he may be harassed by the police if kept inside the police station overnight. He was manhandled by police while he was having his lunch. The cops did not even allow doctors to complete his check up,” Lad said.

The Shiv Sena defended the action of the cops. Sena MP Vinayak Raut said that Rane’s actions would have caused unrest and disrupt the law-and-order situation in the state. “We have faith in the Maharashtra police and they have arrested Rane as he was trying to disrupt the law-and-order situation in the state,” Raut said.

Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar also condemned the statement made by Rane and held a protest against the minister. She said that Rane should not have made such remarks as Rane himself was the chief minister of Maharashtra once. Rane’s comments also led to fights between the cadres of the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra.