Shiv Sena defends Narayan Rane’s arrest

The editorial in Saamana, Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, said anyone who talks about “manhandling the chief minister” will have to face the music according to the law of the land

Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena has defended Narayan Rane’s arrest over his remarks about slapping chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying the union minister crossed all limits. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, it slammed Rane and called his remarks an insult to Maharashtra.

Union minister Narayan Rane. (HT Photo)

“Anyone who speaks against (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is charged with anti-national activity and is sent to jail. Rane’s crime is of similar fashion. Maharashtra is a law-abiding state, and it was necessary to send a strong message that we will not tolerate beyond a limit. Even Modi will not tolerate such arrogance.”

The editorial said anyone who talks about “manhandling the chief minister” will have to face the music according to the law of the land. “A few intellectuals who were accused of conspiring against Modi are still languishing in jail due to the action taken by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government,” said the editorial. It said any decent politician would have apologised for such remarks. The editorial added both Rane and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) do not care about Maharashtra’s pride.

Rane on Monday criticised Thackeray for allegedly confusing the number of years since India got independence during the chief minister’s August 15 address. “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire [with his chief secretary] about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a slap under his ears?” Rane said. His comments sparked outrage and he was arrested a day later and subsequently released on bail.

The editorial called Rane’s comments an insult to both the state as well as the citizens as Thackeray is the head of Maharashtra. It called Rane a back-stabber, who was disloyal to Shiv Sena, which made him the chief minister. “Rane is nothing without the Sena. We have defeated him four times after he left the Sena,” said the editorial. It added the BJP has “unleashed Rane” just to trouble the Sena after losing power in the state. “Rane will be a big embarrassment to the BJP and serve no useful purpose.”

The BJP asked Shiv Sena to introspect. “Uddhav Thackeray has been constantly criticising Modi. The Sena has a record of using derogatory language and has no moral right to criticise anyone,” said BJP lawmaker Ram Kadam.