Maharashtra police have arrested Narayan Rane for a verbal threat to “slap” Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray—in what is the latest salvo in the Shiv Sena-BJP war. We usually ignore petty politics but this is the first arrest of a cabinet minister in twenty years—so it’s worth explaining how and why it happened. We promise to keep it short lol!
The statement: Rane is currently touring Maharashtra as part of BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra—a public outreach campaign. In Raigad on Monday, Rane took aim at Thackeray in a speech—referencing Thackeray’s CM address on Independence Day:
“The state’s economy and all businesses are in turmoil owing to this man [Mr. Thackeray] pathetic management of affairs…more than 1.5 lakh persons have lost their lives due to the state’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a shortage of vaccines, no medical staff, no doctors. The state’s health infrastructure was in a shambolic state… Does he [Mr. Thackeray] even have the right to speak on anything… He ought to keep a secretary as he did not even know it was the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence and was asking someone backstage [on Independence Day]. I would have given him a tight slap had I been there for forgetting the number of years of India’s Independence.”
That’s the offensive statement in full context. And you can watch a clip pairing it with Thackeray’s I-Day blooper below:
The arrest: The threat to slap Thackeray immediately sparked angry protests by Shiv Sena workers—who clashed repeatedly with BJP supporters outside Rane’s home in Mumbai. Three separate FIRs were filed against Rane in Mahad, Nashik and Pune. Responding to increasing speculation about his arrest, Rane raged at reporters:
“I haven’t committed any crime. You should verify and show it on TV or else I will file a case against you. Despite not committing any crime, the media is showing speculative news about my ‘imminent’ arrest. Do you think I am a normal man?”
As it turns out, Rane was indeed a “normal man.” The police arrived in Ratnagiri to arrest him—right in the middle of his lunch:
The charges: The arrest is in connection with the Mahad FIR which was registered under IPC sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of public peace), and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief).
Bailed out: While Rane’s attempt to get anticipatory bail before his arrest failed, he was granted bail last night—giving consideration to his health and age. So he’s not behind bars.
On Rane’s arrest, the state BJP chief declared: “If they felt it was serious, they could have expressed their displeasure through an administrative order. But issuing an arrest order will not be legally or constitutionally valid.”
But here’s the procedure that has to be followed as per the law:
The BJP and Shiv Sena have been engaged in a pitched battle ever since Uddhav Thackeray joined forces with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to seize power in Maharashtra. The tit-for-tat war included the arrest of BJP cheerleader and Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami. This in turn was punished by the BJP which surfaced corruption allegations against state home minister Anil Deshmukh—leading to his resignation. In fact, Rane’s recent induction into the union cabinet was intended as a direct challenge to Thackeray—due to his longstanding feud with Rane.
Thackeray vs Rane: Rane started out as a Shiv Sena man and became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1999—when the first BJP-Shiv sena coalition was in power. He was also the chief challenger to Uddhav’s ascendance as the heir to his father Balasaheb Thackeray’s mantle as Shiv Sena chief. He lost the bid to topple Uddhav and was finally ousted from the Sena by Thackeray Sr. for “anti-party activities.” Rane then joined the Congress, left to form his own party, which he then merged with the BJP. Through it all, Rane has remained a fierce critic of Uddhav—and his wife and son, Aaditya.
Timing: Rane is key to the BJP’s plan to challenge the Sena in the upcoming municipal corporations and district council elections—which is also why he is currently on a Maharashtra jaunt. The Shiv Sena therefore jumped on an opportunity to take direct aim at him:
“The Sena is projecting Rane’s remarks as an insult to the chief minister and thus Maharashtra. After all, the Marathi asmita or identity has always been the Sena’s USP. The Sena’s allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, too, have joined the party by slamming Rane for ‘insulting Maharashtra’.”
Mobilisation: The party’s first family is dear to the Shiv Sena rank and file workers. And it helps Uddhav consolidate support by firing them up over this perceived insult to the Thackeray name:
“Since the Sachin Vaze episode, Thackeray has been defensive on the political front. For him, now is the time to crack down on his opponents and who can be a better target than Rane? We assume that the opposition would now be careful before launching an attack on him. Besides, the Sena cadre loves aggressive leadership.”
Note: Vaze is a police officer charged with masterminding the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence. The charges in that case in turn led to then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s door. We explained the entire Vaze/Deshmukh saga here.
Preemption: By firing the first shot, the Sena hopes to cast any response from the BJP—including tax raids or criminal investigations of its leaders—as petty retaliation: “We can allege vendetta politics and accuse them of targeting us for showing Marathi pride.”
The bottomline: The BJP-Shiv Sena maha yudh is a bit like a turf war between rival mafia gangs. There’s no real value in picking sides.
There’s not much more to this story. The Telegraph has all the reactions to the arrest. Indian Express has explainers on the procedure for arrest and the Rane-Thackeray feud. Hindustan Times has the best political analysis of the arrest.
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