The Mumbai Police on Saturday evening arrested Independent Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her husband Badnera MLA Ravi Rana, who were in the center of the 'Hanuman Chalisa' row. They had plans to storm Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence. The charges against the couple -- Navneet Rana, 36, and Ravi Rana, 40, who describe themselves as 'farmers' - pertain to disturbing peace and order, and making inflammatory statements, by the Khar Police Station following a complaint by Shiv Sena activists.
Here are today's 10 latest developments:
- Earlier this month, Ravi Rana had demanded that CM Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena, recite the Hanuman Chalisa at his residence on Hanuman Jayanti, and announced that if the chief minister did not do so, he would go to Matoshree and recite it. On Friday, Ravi Rana had said he would visit Matoshree on Saturday.
- After the Rana couple's warnings, Shiv Sena workers broke through the barricades and tried to enter the premises of the Khar residence of Maharashtra MLA Ravi Rana and his wife MP Navneet Rana. "Maharashtra CM ordered Shiv Sena workers to heckle us. They're breaking the barricades. I'm reiterating that I'll go outside & will chant Hanuman Chalisa at 'Matroshree'. CM only knows how to throw people in jail," MP Navneet Rana said.
- Strongly objecting to their plan, Shiv Sena workers, including women, have been camping outside 'Matoshree' since Friday morning, with many of them staying put there overnight. Taking an aggressive stance, the party leaders and workers have said they will not let the couple go back without 'prasad' "if they dared to turn up".
- The MLA-MP duo had backed off from their agitation citing PM Narendra Modi's visit to Mumbai tomorrow. They were arrested just a few hours for allegedly "creating enmity between different groups" after escorting them out of their house in suburban Khar amid high drama
- After their arrest, in a counter move, the Ranas also submitted a complaint to Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjunath Shinge against various Shiv Sena leaders like Thackeray, Sena MP Sanjay Raut, and Transport Minister Anil Parab, and 500-600 Shiv Sainiks.
- The duo also launched a scathing attack against CM Thackeray labeling him as a 'Shani' (Saturn) for the state who had forgotten his 'Hindutva' ideals, not attending office for 2 years, ignoring the administration, and only conspiring how to trap political rivals in fake cases, etc.
- Reverting to its aggressive roots, hundreds of Shiv Sena and Yuva Sena men and women activists virtually laid a siege at the politician couple's home and prevented them from stepping out of their Khar flat.
- Sena MP Sanjay Raut declared in Nagpur that the Sainiks would not keep quiet, and the Ranas should prepare to go to the crematorium, while Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane hit back advising Raut to get ready for his funeral rites.
- The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders like Leaders of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis (Assembly) and Pravin Darekar (Council), Sudhir Mungantiwar, and others slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and termed the arrest of the Ranas as arising out of vendetta politics though they had withdrawn their agitation plans.
- Shiv Sena workers hurled footwear and water bottles at the SUV of former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya when he was leaving Khar police station. Somaiya had gone to the police station to meet arrested Ranas.
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