Union Minister Narayan Rane arrested over “slap Uddhav Thackeray” comment

Union Minister Narayan Rane was arrested today over his comment on slapping Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Rane joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet in July as the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The Bombay High Court rejected an urgent hearing on his petition asking for three FIRs against him to be scrapped. His lawyer told the court that the police had arrived to arrest him and they were waiting at the doorstep, to which the Court said: “Please follow the procedure. Don’t make us do the job of the registry.”

At the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, organised across the country by the BJP, Rane claimed that Thackeray had forgotten the year of Independence during his August 15 address and had to check in the middle of his speech. He said that it was shameful and “had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap”, Rane said at a public meeting in Raigad.

This led to massive outrage and the Shiv Sena organised protests, and eventually filed three FIRs listing non-bailable offences. The Shiv Sena said that Rane – who is a former leader of the party – had deliberately made such remarks to provoke people and create tension in Maharashtra. Rane began his career with the Shiv Sen and was elected MLA in the 1990s. He joined the Congress and later quit the Congress too, forming his own party that later merged with the BJP.