The state BJP had convened a meeting followed by media interaction, where Praveen Darekar and Mumbai BJP chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha, along with elected members of state legislative assembly and council were present. (Express) Former Maharashtra chief minister and leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday expressed concerns over the ruling Shiv Sena “taking the law and order into its own hands”.
Fadnavis was responding to Shiv Sena workers reaching the house of Independent MLA Ravi Rana and his MP wife Navneet Rana after the couple announced they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Matoshree, the official residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Later, the Ranas dropped their plans saying that they were doing so in view of the Prime Minister’s impending visit to the city and the hardship that the residents and the police have had to face over the last few hours.
“The Sena’s conduct was unexplainable. It makes one wonder why is Shiv Sena going overboard on the Hanuman Chalisa issue. The Rana couple had said they wanted to recite the Hanuman Chalisa. They were not going to create any law-and-order problem. They would have stood in one corner and read out the Hanuman Chalisa,” Fadnavis told the media.
He added, “What is surprising is the reaction from Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena mobilised Sainiks outside Matoshree. It was followed by a protest. What was the need for such a show of strength? Shiv Sena is a ruling party. If the ruling party takes the law into its own hand, it is a cause of serious concern and needs to be discussed and dealt with firmly.”
Other BJP leaders also echoed Fadnavis’ remarks. “Maharashtra is witnessing a complete breakdown in law and order. It is heading towards anarchy,” Praveen Darekar, opposition leader in state legislative council, said on Saturday. “The ruling Shiv Sena is indulging in mindless violence against BJP to intimidate the opposition. They are trying to terrorize people. The police have become mute spectators and are under pressure not to act.”
Darekar along with BJP MLAs and MLCs held a press conference at the BJP headquarters to condemn the growing instances of alleged Sena attacks on BJP workers and functions. The BJP hit out at the Shiv Sena saying the “goondagiri (hooliganism)” in Maharashtra was state sponsored, with the blessings of the chief minister.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP have been at loggerheads ever since the Mumbai BJP launched its ‘Pol Khol’ campaign to expose corruption in the Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, ahead of crucial civic body polls. The Sena has perceived the campaign as a well-calculated move to malign its image.
Listing a series of incidents where BJP programmes across Mumbai were allegedly disrupted by Sena workers and the attack on BJP leader Mohit Kamboj Bharatiya, Darekar threatened that if the “Shiv Sena continues unruly behaviour and violence, we will be forced to react”.
BJP leader Ashish Shelar also sounded a warning. “If the Shiv Sena believes it can attack individual BJP leaders and get away, they are mistaken. They should know that when their leaders come out on street, they will also meet the same fate,” he said.
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