MUMBAI BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday called the arrest of MP Navneet Rana and her husband and MLA Ravi Rana by Mumbai Police "painful" and "embarrassing" for Maharashtra.
He also said the police did not act when a leader of the ruling Shiv Sena made threatening statements or the car of a BJP leader was attacked, but arrested the Ranas when they arrived in Mumbai to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's house.
In a series of tweets, Fadnavis said, "The incidents in Maharashtra are painful. No FIR was filed when Mohit Kamboj's vehicle was attacked or when a leader talks about burying a woman representative 20 feet under the ground. But when the Rana couple comes to Mumbai to recite Hanuman Chalisa, they are immediately arrested."
Kamboj, a Mumbai BJP leader, had claimed on Friday that his car was attacked near Matoshree, Chief Minister Thackeray's private residence. Sena leader Raut said earlier on Saturday, without naming any person, that anyone who tried to test the patience of his party would be "buried 20 feet beneath the earth".
"Why is there so much arrogance of power? It is the state government that is instigating violence. Is your manhood limited to such behaviour," Fadnavis, a former chief minister tweeted. "It is an utter embarrassment for the state to witness such a poor show. All this is happening before the people," he added.
He also asked if the arrest indicated that "people have lost their right to express their views", and why those who speak about democratic values were "selectively silent". Earlier in the day, speaking in Nagpur, Fadnavis said the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government's way of handling the entire episode was "very childish".
"If allowed, the Rana couple would have gone there (Matoshree), recited Hanuman Chalisa and returned without creating any news. I don't understand why so many people had gathered at several places as if they (Rana couple) were planning some attack. What kind of politics is this?" the BJP leader said.
Mumbai Police on Saturday evening arrested MLA Ravi Rana and his wife, MP Navneet Rana, both Independent legislators from eastern Maharashtra, for allegedly "creating enmity between different groups" after escorting them out of their house in suburban Khar amid high drama.
The development came hours after the couple cancelled their plan to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' here.