The tale of a threat, arrest, and rivalry

Maharashtra Police arrested Union Cabinet minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday, making him the first central minister in over two decades to be arrested while in office. He was later released on bail. Mr Rane castigated state chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray for his supposed ignorance of facts about India’s Independence, and said he would have slapped the CM if he was present. The Shiv Sena did not take kindly to the remark, its activists filed complaints, and the police picked Mr Rane on charges ranging from threatening a public servant to provoking a breach of peace.

Mr Rane was wrong. Civility demands that political differences don’t manifest themselves in offensive remarks; a minister must choose his words carefully and threatening to slap anyone is wrong. At the same time, the state government has overreacted — multiple first information reports and arrest for an offence, which, in the annals of sins committed by Indian politicians, is relatively minor, appears to stem from political considerations, although it is likely that even the party to which Mr Rane belongs would have reacted similarly had one of its popular leaders been threatened with physical violence.

Politics lies at the heart of the issue. Mr Rane is a former Shiv Sainik. His inclusion in the Cabinet was meant to signal to the Sena that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would take on its former ally. All of this is also happening in the run-up to civic elections, where Mr Rane has been tasked with challenging the Sena’s dominance in Mumbai and its vicinity. But while the political calculation is obvious, the controversy can end if Mr Rane apologises for having used violent language and the Sena pulls back from its excessive response.