NEW DELHI: Slamming the Maharashtra government for the arrest of Union minister Narayan Rane, BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday said it was violative of constitutional values, and his party will not be be cowed down by such actions.
In a tweet, Nadda said the "huge" response the BJP has received in its 'Jan Aashirvad Yatra' has jolted its rivals.
"We fight democratically. The yatra will continue," he said.
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the BJP does not support Rane's comment. “We do not support Union Minister Narayan Rane’s remarks on the Chief Minister. One can get angry for not remembering the Amrit Mahotsav year of India’s Independence, this is natural.”
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil, however, distanced himself from Rane's remarks against Thackeray. "I am not defending Rane's comments, but I will also not express regret," Patil told a regional news channel.
Rane was arrested on Tuesday over his remarks about slapping Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for what he claimed was the latter's ignorance of the year of India's independence.
Rane was taken into custody by police in coastal Ratnagiri district, where he is travelling as part of the Jan Ashirvad Yatra.