Narayan Rane Launches Tirade Against Shiv Sena, Threatens To 'Expose' Party 'Bit-By-Bit'

Narayan Rane's statement against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had drawn a lot of criticism and led to his arrest on Tuesday before his release a few hours later.

New Delhi: Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane who is locked in a bitter fight with the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, on Friday said that he knew a lot of things and would bring out cases "step by step".

"I've done nothing wrong. They (Shiv Sena) enjoy power, so they arrested me. Maharashtra is number 1 in COVID. During COVID, they didn't take any action. Sushant Singh (Rajput) was murdered. Disha Salian was raped and killed, yet the perpetrators roam freely," Narayan Rane said raking up issue of Sushant and Disha Salian's death, news agency ANI reported.

Rane launched a tirade against the Shiv Sena while speaking at a rally in Ratnagiri district as a part of his resumed 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra'.

"Shiv Sainiks who came in front of my house were welcomed by the police. What has Shiv Sena given to Konkan region in last two years? They thought I would be scared if they took action against me. But our journey has been successful," Union Minister Narayan Rane said in Ratnagiri.

The Yuva Sena workers had protested outside Rane's bungalow in Mumbai on Tuesday over his recent remarks on Uddhav Thackeray.

Attacking Vinayak Sanjay Raut, Narayan Rane said that he "speaks without any sense". "Vinayak and Sanjay Raut will lead to the fall of Shiv Sena... The distance between Konkan and Kashmir represents the difference between Mamata Banerjee and her becoming the Prime Minister," he said.

Vinayak Raut had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding Rane's dismissal from the Union Cabinet.

Earlier this week, his remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had drawn a lot of criticism and led to his arrest on Tuesday before his release a few hours later.

The statement also sparked off clashes between Shiv Sena and BJP supporters.

Meanwhile, in the rally today, he also made a veiled attack on CM Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the president of Shiv Sena as he said, "What did one achieve by arresting a union minister? I will bring out cases step by step", PTI reported.

He further threatened to "expose" the Sena 'bit-by-bit' over the coming days, IANS reported.

Notably, Rane had started off his political career as a Shiv Sena worker and became the state CM in 1999. However, in 2005, he was expelled from the party for "anti-party activities". Following that, he joined the Congress and stayed there till 2017.

Then he quit Congress to launch the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha in October 2017. In 2018, he declared support for the BJP and was elected to the Rajya Sabha on that party's nomination.

In October 2019, he merged his party with the BJP. He was made the Union Minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) last month in the cabinet reshuffle.

(With inputs from agencies)