Hanuman Chalisa row: Navneet Rana challenges Uddhav to contest against her, vows to uproot BMC’s ‘Lanka of Corruption’

Special public prosecutor Advocate Pradeep Gharat called the couple’s statements in the media a clear contempt of court

Independent MP Navneet Rana after being discharged from Lilavati hospital, at Bandra in Mumbai. PTI

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 8

An unrelenting Navneet Rana, who was today discharged from a hospital, launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of misusing his power and challenging him to prove himself by contesting against her from any district of the state.

“If you have the guts, contest election from any district in the state. I will contest against you. Then see who the people of the state choose,” Navneet said.

Alleging that she was harassed and tortured in the lockup, the independent MP from Amravati had been admitted to a hospital for spondylosis treatment.

“If reciting Hanuman Chalisa is a crime, then I am willing to stay in jail, not just for 14 days, but for 14 years. If they think that they can suppress a woman’s voice by keeping her in jail for 14 days, it’s not going to happen. Our fight is in the name of God and it is going to continue”, she said.

Pointing out that she is a Mumbaichi ‘mulgi’ (daughter of Mumbai), Navneet promised to campaign in the BMC elections for like-minded parties to uproot the ‘Lanka of corruption’ built by the Shiv Sena, which is ruling it for over two decades.

Navneet and her husband, MLA Ravi Rana, are also planning to lodge a complaint against Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government with Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP leadership. The meeting is expected on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government will file petition in the court to cancel the bail granted to Navneet and Ravi Rana. Special public prosecutor Advocate Pradeep Gharat called the couple’s statements in the media a clear contempt of court. Asserting that they are in breach of their bail conditions, Gharat was quoted as saying that he will submit the petition for cancellation of bail in the sessions’ court on Monday.

The court, while granting bail to the Rana couple, had put the condition that they would not speak to the media regarding the case.