MUMBAI: Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana on Sunday allegedly defied the bail conditions laid down by a special court here by speaking to the media about the case registered against her and her husband and independent MLA Ravi Rana.
As per the bail order, the Rana couple was forbidden from speaking to the media about the case registered against them.
Navneet Rana upon being discharged from Nanavati Hospital challenged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying should he fight election from any constituency, she would contest against him.
Alleging that she was sent to jail just for chanting Hanuman Chalisa, the Amravati MP said: “Is it a crime taking Lord Ram or Hanuman’s name? If it is a crime, then I am ready to go to jail again; I am not afraid of it. I will complain to the Prime Minister and Union home minister that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has been misusing power to target political opponents,” she said.
Shiv Sena was soon to criticise the Ranas for “breaking” the bail conditions and speaking against their leader Uddhav Thackeray. Sena leaders alleged that by defying the court order, the couple committed contempt of court and hence, their bails should be cancelled.
The Ranas were arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly promoting enmity between two groups and disturbing social harmony, after the duo announced to chant Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s residence.
Union minister and BJP leader Raosaheb Danve on Sunday hit out at the Shiv Sena, saying that although its marriage was arranged with the BJP, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party "cheated and ran away with others".
He was referring to the Shiv Sena's act of joining hands with the NCP and the Congress after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena, which was one of the oldest allies of the BJP, had forged the unlikely alliance with the two parties after parting ways with the BJP over the issue of sharing the chief minister's post.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here, Danve said, "Shiv Sena left us (BJP) for the chief minister's post. We did not leave it. It is up to the people to decide whether they have run away from the BJP or not. The marriage was arranged with us, but they ran away with others."
Slamming CM Thackeray, the Minister of State for Railways said, "People of Maharashtra had voted for BJP-Sena (in 2019 Assembly polls), but you rebelled and left us for power and went with Congress and NCP. You became the chief minister. These are good days for you, but your rule has brought bad days for the 12 crore people of the state."
Criticising Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Danve said the BJP would rip the Sena apart in the upcoming elections.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that the election schedule for the civic polls in Maharashtra be announced in two weeks, even as the state government had earlier said that polls would be held after the political quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was approved.
Referring to it, Danve said, "The Union government does not have the responsibility to submit the empirical data (of the OBCs. It is the responsibility of the state government to do so."
He said the OBC leaders in the MVA government are just "showpieces" as they "wield no influence and nobody listens to them".
(With PTI Inputs)