'Slap Uddhav' row: A new front opens in the Shiv Sena-BJP war

In an unprecedented event that is set to impact Maharashtra politics the police arrested Union Minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday on charges of making an inappropriate remark against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray The arrest led to clashes between BJP and Shiv Sena workers in Mumbai and several other places The arrest followed protests and a war of words between the friendsturnedfoes Rane was granted bail late last nightOn Monday during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Mahad Rane had allegedly mentioned something about a tight slap to Uddhav ThackerayFollowing this remark police complaints were lodged against Rane the minister for micro small and medium enterprises in Mahad Pune Aurangabad and Nashik Police teams were sent to detain him at some of these places But Sangameshwar Ratnagiri district police detained Rane in the afternoon and later handed him to Mahad police Rane didnrsquot get anticipatory bail from the courts He was produced before a court for bail late Tuesday eveningAlso read Mumbai Shiv Sena BJP workers clash in Juhu over Narayan Ranes slap remark five cops injuredShiv Sena workers pelted the BJP office with stones in Thane PicsPTIEarlier in the day Rane who had quit the Sena in 2005 over differences with Uddhav Thackeray refuted the charge and challenged the Senaled MVA government to act against him ldquoI know the IPC sections they have slapped against me The police are acting at the behest of the people who are jealous of me I will fight in the courtrdquo he said adding why no objections were raised or action taken when CM Thackeray had openly talked about slapping a BJP legislator Prasad Lad who had said the Sena Bhavan will be attacked Political action began early Tuesday when sainiks gathered in the streets in front of Ranersquos Juhu residence and BJP offices in several cities and towns The Sena workers protested their former party colleaguersquos remarks Police had to use force to disperse the mob in Juhu In some places the BJP offices were pelted with stones BJP legislator Prasad Lad who accompanied Rane during his public outreach programme Jan Aashirvad Yatra in Konkan accused the police of manhandling the union minister for micro small and medium enterprise ldquoThe Ratnagiri police chief said he was under pressure from a state minister and departmental seniors to arrest Rane immediately The police didnrsquot allow Rane to finish his lunch and undergo a medical checkup for hypertension and diabetes I see a threat to Ranersquos liferdquo Lad said in a video statement he issued after Rane was detained at Goliwali near Sangameshwar Rane has been charged in Nashik under IPC sections 500 defamation 5052 mischief 153B 1c remarks likely to cause disharmony or feeling of enmity or hatred or illwill The Pune police slapped sections 153 and 505 of IPC against him The details of cases in Mahad and Aurangabad were not availableShiv Senarsquos Yuva Sena activists stage a protest with a chicken against Narayan Rane near the mental hospital in Thane on TuesdayBJP doesnrsquot endorse butExCM and opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said the party did not endorse Ranersquos remarks but will stand behind the minister for fighting the lsquounrulyrsquo government which misused power to act against him while letting other offenders freeldquoThe CM is an important post and we think that one has to follow restraint while speaking about a CM There are other ways of protesting when a CM forgets about the significance of the Independence Day while making a speechrdquo he said ldquoThey did not show such swiftness when Sharjeel Usmani spoke against the country and Hindus And now the entire police force is out to arrest Rane in a noncognizable offence Some in the police are doing it to appease the government and defame their honest counterparts The courts will prove their action wrong in this case as wellrdquo said FadnavisA grab from a video before Ranersquos arrest tweeted by BJP legislator Prasad Lad who claimed Rane was not allowed to finish lunchldquoThe Sena workers told television channels that they pelted stones because the CM told them to do so Nothing happens when you call people shameless ask sainiks to kick people and say chaukidar chor hai Why such double standards Is this Taliban We will protest in front of the CP offices if our offices are attacked and the culprits are not arrestedrdquo Fadnavis added furtherBJP national president J P Nadda said the arrest was unconstitutional In a tweet he said his party will not buckle under pressure tactics ldquoSome people are worried because of a huge response to the Aashirvad Yatra which will continue We will fight it out democratically he saidBJP legislator Ashish Shelar said the BJP will finish the matter that the Sena has started ldquoStop this tamasha or else the responsibility will be yoursrdquo he saidSena MVA slam RaneShiv Sena chief spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said the BJP had changed ldquoThe CMrsquos office isnrsquot just a chair but an institution You can criticise it politically but using language like Rane is not acceptable What has happened to the BJP that we know for many years We didnrsquot see their leaders behave like thisrdquo he said while insisting that the law will take its course notwithstanding the status of the accused Sena MP Vinayak Raut wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the sacking of Rane from the cabinetMVA partners strongly criticised Rane State NCP president Jayant Patil said the personal grudges the BJP had against Thackeray could be understood but the use of such language will not be accepted by Maharashtra ldquoSome people in politics have stooped to a new low The PM and BJP should tell us whether they endorse such behaviourrdquo said Patil State Congress chief Nana Patole said the party was happy to have so many ministers from Maharashtra in the Modirsquos team who would be beneficial for the state but it now emerges that some of them are making statements that create unrest and deface the statersquos great culture