Narayan Rane’s arrest: Day after, war of words continues as Sena-BJP ties hit a new low

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

A day after Narayan Rane was arrested and granted bail over his ‘slap’ Uddhav Thackeray’ comment, the war of words between the union minister and his former party, Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena, continued.

Sena mouthpiece ‘Samana’ described the BJP leader as a ‘balloon with holes’ and compared him to a frog. Sena MP Sanjay Raut also advised him to “learn how to behave and stop disrespecting a sitting Chief Minister who is equal to the Prime Minister when it comes to protocol and dignity”.

Rane, meanwhile, said even Thackeray had used unparliamentary words while referring to BJP leaders Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath.

The Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Narendra Modi Cabinet thanked cadres and colleagues for standing by him and claimed that he had not said anything wrong. “I am not afraid of anyone and I am not backing out. My words were an expression of anger against the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) who forgot the year of India’s Independence,” he was quoted as saying.

Rane has been touring the Konkan region to strengthen the BJP’s foothold ahead of crucial civic body elections, including to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), due in February 2022.

With Rane becoming the first incumbent central minister to be arrested by the state police in the last 20 years, the relations between the two former allies have hit a new low.

Incidentally, late Murasoli Maran and TR Baalu are the other sitting central ministers to be arrested, in 2001.

This is also not the first time Rane had targeted the CM and the Sena. He had also levelled allegations against Uddhav’s son, Aaditya Thackeray, on having links with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.