Rane arrested in Maha over ‘slap CM’ remark
First Union minister to be arrested by any state police in 20 yrs; BJP calls it violation of constitutional values
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Police arrested Union minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday for saying he wanted to slap chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, prompting Shiv Sena workers to go on a rampage, and setting up another political face-off between the ruling three-party alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rane, who holds the micro, small and medium enterprises portfolio, is the first sitting central minister to be arrested in two decades, since Murasoli Maran and TR Baalu were picked up in an infamous midnight raid in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Police in 2001.
The senior BJP leader was arrested in Golavali in Ratnagiri district, where he was travelling as part of the Jan Ashirwad rallies newly inducted Union ministers are addressing across the country. He was arrested during his lunch break and was handed over to Raigad police around 2.45pm. A doctor examined him after the leader complained of high blood pressure and sugar level. The 69-year-old was produced in a court in Mahad in Raigad on Tuesday night and granted bail.
He is facing three separate first information reports -- one in Mahad in Raigad, one in Nashik, and one in Pune.
The First Information Report at Mahad was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of public peace), and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief). The FIR in Nashik was filed under sections 500 (defamation), 505(2) (circulation of defamatory material), 153-b (1)(c) (commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities) of Indian Penal Code. Of the charges, section 153-b (1)(c) is a non-bailable offence. In a speech on Monday, Rane criticised Thackeray for allegedly confusing the number of years since India got independence during the chief minister’s August 15 address. “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire [with his chief secretary] about the count of years of independence during his speech.”