In a scathing attack on Union Minister Narayan Rane in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena justified his arrest over his "threats to attack" Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and said that if such comments were made by anybody against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they would be rotting in jail under charges of treason.
Sena's comments have come after a day of political drama in Maharashtra following Rane's arrest and subsequent bail over his remarks of "slapping" Thackeray. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena workers clashed in several parts of the state, including Mumbai, the arrest of a union minister in the state caused much uproar.
"Narayan Rane, who now shares the dais with the Prime Minister, threatened to attack the chief minister of Maharashtra. If anybody had used such language against the PM, he'd have been imprisoned for 'treason'. Maharashtra is a state of law and order and it was time to prove that behaviour like that of a 'discordant king' will not be tolerated beyond a point. The Prime Minister himself would not have tolerated it," Sena said, adding that "Rane seems to have taken a 'supari' for the Chief Minister."
'Rane a Perforated Balloon, BJP Leaders Behaving Like the Taliban'
Calling Rane a "perforated balloon," the editorial said that he was never a great leader and whatever he has been able to achieve politically was at the behest of the Shiv Sena.
"Rane was never cultured. Wearing the cloak of a 'Union Minister,' Rane is speaking and behaving like a gangster," the Sena said, adding that Rane's comments were an insult to the people of the state and that BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Chandrakant Patil were backing it.
The Sena further alleged that the only reason why Rane was being 'rewarded' with the post of a union minister was because of his constant mudslinging at the Shiv Sena and that some BJP leaders have started using language like that of 'Talibans in Kabul'.
Narayan Rane's Arrest
Rane was arrested on Tuesday by the Ratnagiri police after FIRs were registered against him for saying that he would have slapped the chief minister for 'forgetting' the year of India's independence.
His arrest came after violent clashes were reported between the Shiv Sena and the BJP workers and several BJP offices were vandalised in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Chiplun.
Rane, while addressing the media while on a 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' had said, "It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of our Independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap.”
Rane was referring to Thackeray's 15 August address during which he had leaned to confirm from his aide if the current year was the "diamond jubilee year" of independence.
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