Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested independent MLA Ravi Rana and his wife MP Navneet Rana for 'creating enmity between different groups' after the couple announced their plan to recite 'Hanuman Chalisa' in front of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence. The arrest was made in the evening even though the couple backed off on their plan, saying that they did no want to disturb the law and order situation in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city for an event.
"A case is registered at Khar Police Station against MLA Ravi Rana and MP Navneet Kaur Rana under sections 153(A), 34, IPC r/w 37(1) 135 Bombay police act. Both are taken into custody from their house at Khar. Further investigation is being done by Khar PS," said Mumbai Police.
The Ranas' plan to recite 'Hanuman Chalisa' outside 'Matoshree' had sparked off tension in the area with a large number of Shiv Sena workers camping near their residence in suburban Khar, taking an aggressive stand. The Sena workers broke through the barricades and tried to enter the premises of their Khar residence. But the situation was brought under control by the police, who later asked the couple not to step out of their house as the situation may escalate due to the presence of a large number of Sena activists.
Ravi Rana is an independent MLA from Badnera and Navneet is an independent MP from Amravati.
Talking to media in the afternoon, the couple said they decided to drop their plan as they did not want to create a law and order situation on the eve of the prime minister's visit to Mumbai.
Modi arrives in the city on Sunday to attend an event where he will be honoured with the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar award.
Shiv Sena activists protest outside Ravi Rana and Navneet Kaur's residence | PTI
Rana launched a scathing attack on Chief Minsiter Thackeray, saying he has not done anything for the state during the last two and a half years of his tenure. “If there is an iota of late Balasaheb Thackeray's thoughts left in Uddhav Thackeray, he should not distance himself from the Hindutva ideology," he added.
The Rana couple's plan to stage the 'Hanuman Chalisa' protest followed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's 'ultimatum' to the state government to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3. He had threatened to play Hanuman Chalisa outside the mosques if the demand was not met. The BJP supported Raj's demand.
