MUMBAI: Ahead of a rally of opposition leaders, Union Minister Narayan Rane has warned that if anybody uses abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the person will not be allowed to return home.
Rane, the BJP candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency in coastal Maharashtra, was speaking at a campaign rally in Sindhudurg district on Monday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his party's MP Sanjay Raut criticise Modi while not understanding what they are talking about, said the minister, a former Shiv Sena leader himself.
"I learnt that opposition parties will be holding a rally in Sindhudurg soon. It is part of democracy, so they are welcome here. But if anyone uses abusive language against our leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will not allow that person to return from here," Rane said.
The BJP leader, who left the Shiv Sena after falling out with Uddhav Thackeray in 2005, claimed that Uddhav was never his father Bal Thackeray's choice for the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister.
"Had Uddhav been his choice, Balasaheb would have made him CM instead of me in 1999. Uddhav is a zero-performance person," said Rane, who was chief minister for less than a year.
He also alleged that during the coronavirus pandemic, Uddhav Thackeray, then chief minister, tried to get a "15 percent commission" on vaccine procurement, and an inquiry into such corruption by his government was going on.