Days after getting arrested and then released on bail over his ‘slap’ remark on Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Union minister Narayan Rane said that he didn’t do any “wrong” and that the ruling Shiv Sena arrested him only because they “enjoy power” in the state.
“Maharashtra is number 1 in Covid-19. During Covid-19, they didn’t take any action. [Bollywood actor] Sushant Singh (Rajput) was murdered. Disha Salian was raped and killed, [and] yet the perpetrators roam freely,” Rane was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The union minister further said that Shiv Sainiks, who had gone to his house, were welcomed by the police. “What has Shiv Sena given to [the] Konkan region in [the] last two years? They thought I would be scared if they took action against me. But our journey has been successful,” he told ANI.
Rane also addressed Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s “West Bengal is the tiger of the country” remark, saying that the former “speaks without any sense.” “Vinayak and Sanjay Raut will lead to the fall of Shiv Sena…The difference between Konkan and Kashmir is the same between making Mamata Banerjee the Prime Minister,” he added.
Rane flew to Ratnagiri on Friday morning to resume his Jan Ashirwad Yatra that was halted owing to his arrest and subsequent bail late on Tuesday. The yatra, which the new Union council of ministers are undertaking across the nation, will end in the neighbouring Sindhudurg district on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Rane flew to Ratnagiri on Friday morning to resume his Jan Ashirwad Yatra that was halted owing to his arrest and subsequent bail late on Tuesday. The yatra, which the new Union council of ministers are undertaking across the nation, will end in the neighbouring Sindhudurg district on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, Rane had made the controversial ‘slap CM’ remark after Thackeray apparently forgot the year of India’s independence and asked it from someone.
He was granted bail by the court of the first-class judicial magistrate in Mahad, even as the advocate representing the state government appealed for seven-day judicial custody. The union minister’s counsel pleaded for his bail on several grounds, including his health.
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The 69-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader – who was a Sena leader in the past, was slapped with at least three First Information Report (FIRs) – one each in Pune, Mahad and Nashik.