Amid the fierce row between Union Minister Narayan Rane and the Shiv Sena over the former's remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, a video that surfaced on social media on Wednesday, 25 August, shows Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab seemingly ordering a police officer to arrest Rane at the earliest.
“Hello, what are you people doing? But you need to do it. Have you detained him or not?… What order are they asking for? The high court and sessions court have rejected his bail (application)… then use the police force,” Parab can he heard saying in Marathi over the phone in the video, as per a The Indian Express report.
Parab, who is the guardian minister of Ratnagiri, had made these statements while speaking on the phone during a press conference on Tuesday. The microphones kept in front of him appeared to have caught his comments.
Shiv Sena MP Bhaskar Jadhav, who was sitting next to Parab, can be heard telling the minister that Rane had not been detained by the police yet.
“He is sitting in the house, which is surrounded by the police. When the police went inside, an incident of manhandling took place. The police will bring him out now,” the minister can be heard saying to Jadhav in response, as per The Indian Express.
The Squabble Between Narayan Rane and Shiv Sena
During his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Raigad, Union Minister Narayan Rane 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,” news agency PTI had reported.
Rane's comments drew sharp reactions from the Shiv Sena and its allies, while Sena workers came out on the streets to protest on Tuesday, 24 August.
The Union minister was subsequently arrested for the remark on Tuesday – marking the first time in Maharashtra that a serving Union minister has been arrested. Hours later on the same day, Rane was granted a bail by the Mahad magistrate court, upon furnishing a bond of Rs 15,000.
Four FIRs had been registered against Rane, including one in Nashik. A notice sent by the Nashik Police has asked Rane to appear at Cyber Police Station at noon on 2 September.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)