New Delhi: Despite the Shiv Sena’s wrath and a notice by the Mumbai Police, Amravati Member of Parliament Navneet Rana and her husband and MLA Ravi Rana on Friday said they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence in Mumbai on Saturday.
The couple told reporters they will turn up outside Thackeray’s ‘Matoshree’ residence in suburban Bandra as announced earlier, PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police issued a notice to the couple, asking them not to disrupt the law and order situation.
A team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Manjunath Singe visited their residence and served them a notice from the Kherwadi Police Station under Section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), PTI reported.
He said the couple took the notice, which has been issued to prevent any cognisable offence.
As per the notice, the police have requested them not to disturb peace and maintain law and order situation.
Earlier on Thursday, Ravi Rana had announced that he was firm on his plan to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s ‘Matoshree’ residence in Mumbai.
Earlier in the day, a large number of Shiv Sena workers in view of his announcement gathered outside ‘Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra in Mumbai and raised slogans in the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s support.
Issuing a warning, the Shiv Sena workers said the Ranas would be taught a lesson if they turn up at the spot.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is a constituent of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, took potshots at MLA Rana for his announcement.
The NCP accused him of doing so to destabilise the Maharashtra government and stoke communal tension in the state.
Rana, an independent MLA from Badnera in Amravati district, had extended his support to former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Sena government in 2014-19.
Meanwhile, the police deployed heavy security at Thackeray’s residence to prevent any untoward incident.
The development came as, according to an official, a large number of Shiv Sena supporters gathered outside the residence.
Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said recital of Hanuman Chalisa and Ram Navami celebration was a matter of faith and not stunt.
“People like Rana are characters in the nautanki and stunt of the BJP. People don’t take this stunt seriously,” he told reporters.
In reference to a Bollywood movie starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, the Shiv Sena leader described the Rana couple as ‘Bunty aur Babli’.
“They don’t know what Mumbai’s Shiv Sainiks are made of,” Raut said.