MUMBAI: BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers clashed in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra on Friday after stones were pelted on former MP Nilesh Rane's car, prompting police to fire teargas shells to bring the situation under control.
Rane, son of Union minister Naraayn Rane, was on his way to address a rally in Guhagar when the incident took place near Patpanhale College, an official said.
"Supporters of Rane and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav clashed with each other. Teargas shells had to be lobbed to restore normalcy in the area. Someone allegedly pelted stones at Rane's car when he was on his way to attend a public meeting. BJP workers assembled at the scene, after which workers from both parties indulged in stone throwing," the Guhagar police station official said.
A few cars were damaged though there was no report as yet of injuries to anyone, the official said, adding the process of registering an FIR was underway.
Speaking on the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said one cannot stop somebody through such cowardly attacks.
The kind of culture some people are bringing in shows their frustration, he said in an attack on the Shiv Sena (UBT).
"Appropriate action will be taken in connection with the Ratnagiri incident," the deputy CM said.
Rane's brother Nitesh Rane is BJP MLA from Kankvali in the Konkan region and a close aide of Fadnavis.
Videos had gone viral recently of Bhaskar Jadhav, the MLA from Guhagar, ridiculing Union minister Narayan Rane.