Amravati legislators Ravi Rana and Bacchu Kadu (Express photos)Hours after it appeared that two Amravati legislators, Bacchu Kadu and Ravi Rana, have resolved their differences after the intervention of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, the verbal war between the two has flared up once again.
“Kadu is using the language of dadagiri. I will not tolerate this… Hum ghar mein ghus kar marenge..,” said Rana, an Independent MLA, Wednesday evening while responding to Kadu’s public rally in Amravati where he pardoned the former “since it was the first time.”
Addressing his supporters in Amravati on Tuesday, Kadu had said, “Ravi Rana has expressed his regrets… I am happy about that. He has realised his mistake. He has taken two steps back and I won’t mind going four steps back. I don’t want to waste my energy on such trivial issues. The issue has ended for me. I will continue to devote my time to the betterment of the lives of the poor in the state”.
Stating he doesn’t care for the power, Kadu, who heads the Jan Prahar Shakti, said, “Don’t underestimate Prahar. We might be fewer in numbers, but we have enough strength. We don’t trouble anyone. But if someone tries to needle us, we will not spare them. We don’t care for power… For the last 20 years, I have been facing 350 cases against me”.
The tone and tenor of Kadu’s language did not go down well with Rana. On Wednesday, he told the media that though they had settled their differences following the intervention of CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis, the language used by Kadu will get a befitting reply.
“Kadu and I had discussions with Shinde and Fadnavis for over three hours. Everything was settled there, and I even tendered my apology on their advice. Now, Kadu in a public rally on Tuesday again threatened me and used the language of dadagiri, which we will not tolerate. If he would have asked politely, I would have apologised to him ten times. But if he is using such derogatory language, we will see how he gets elected in 2024 assembly polls,” said Rana, adding he does not “even care about Uddhav Thackeray.”
To Rana’s “ghar mein ghus kare marenge” comment, Kadu told reporters Wednesday, “I challenge Rana… Let him come with a sword to my home, I will offer him flowers. I am not interested in escalating the quarrel any further. Let the voters decide who will win or lose.”
The verbal war between the legislators started after Ravi Rana alleged Kadu was offered a bribe of Rs 50 crore to dump the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and support the Shinde-led faction.
Kadu, who represents the Achlapur Assembly constituency in the Amravati district, supported the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray after the 2019 Assembly poll. Kadu was made also a minister of state in the Thackeray government. Kadu switched sides to join Shinde in June when he rebelled and was among the 50 MLAs, including 40 rebel Shiv Sena legislators, who supported him.