Thane Aug 30 PTI BJP General Secretary C T Ravi has said his party was not interested in clashing with the Shiv Sena and maintained time has come to think if the Maharashtra-based political outfit has drifted away from its own thoughts and those of its founder Bal ThackerayHe said the though BJP does not endorse Union minister Narayan Ranes slap comments against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray but the party stands with its leaderRavi who is in-charge of Maharashtra and two other states was in Thane on Sunday for a party meeting and also to take stock of preparations for the forthcoming civic electionsPolls are slated for civic bodies of several big cities of the state including Mumbai Thane and Pune next yearTalking to reporters after the meeting with BJP office-bearers he said his party was not here to clash with the Shiv Sena its former ally which has now joined hands with the Congress and the NCPRavis statement came in the backdrop of Ranes arrest for his remarks against Thackeray last week and subsequent clashes between Shiv Sena and BJP workers in several parts of the state including MumbaiHe said time has come to think if the Shiv Sena has drifted away from its own thoughts and those of its founder late Bal ThackerayRavi avoided any answer when asked about the possibility of the BJP and the Shiv Sena once again coming togetherHe said the BJP was only against those who have anti-national ideologies and the Shiv Sena does not fall in this category PTI COR RSY RSY

Mumbai Aug 25 PTI Maharashtra BJP legislator Ashish Shelar on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged involvement of Shiv Sena leader and state minister Anil Parab in the arrest of Union minister Narayan Rane Shelar made the demand while speaking to reporters here Rane was arrested on Tuesday afternoon for his remark made during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra of his party the previous day that he would have slapped Uddhav Thackeray over the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence After his arrest Rane was taken to Mahad in Raigad district 165 km from Mumbai where an FIR was registered against him over the remark He was granted bail by a court at Mahad on late Tuesday night BJP demands a CBI inquiry into the alleged involvement of state Transport Minister Anil Parab in the arrest of Rane as the Sena leader was heard telling someone that the Union ministers bail plea is going to be rejected All the phone calls made by Parab and IPS officials involved into it should be probed he said There is a video clip of Parab talking to someone on Tuesday around 1 pm over phone informing that the sessions court is going to reject the bail plea of Rane The application was rejected around 4 pm but Parab had informed the person on the other side much before it This is suspicious and raises questions over states intentions he said The video clip was from Ratnagiri District Planning and Development Council DPDC meeting chaired by Parab who is its guardian minister Shelar added Parabs action is an insult of the state judiciary as well as an act of pressuring IPS officialsThe state home ministry is with the NCP and that partys chief Sharad Pawar had talked about the complaints a few months back that the Sena leader was interfering into the home ministry he claimed PTI ND NP NP

Mumbai Aug 25 PTI Maharashtra BJP MLA and Union minister Narayan Ranes son Nitesh Rane on Wednesday demanded the imposition of Presidents rule in the state after some Yuva Sena members who had participated in a protest against the Rane senior met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray The Yuva Sena members met the CM on Tuesday night at his official residence Varsha hours after they participated in a protest outside Narayan Ranes residence in Mumbai over his remarks against Thackeray a leader of the Shiv Senas youth wing had said Nitesh Rane tweeted a photo shared by Yuva Sena leader Varun Sardesai stating that the core committee members of the Shiv Senas youth wing Yuva Sena had met the chief minister So it was indeed state-sponsored violence just like West Bengal As the head of the state the CM should be ensuring safety but he is actually felicitating hooligans State of affairs in Maharashtra Presidents rule is the only way out to ensure safety from these thugs the Kankavli MLA tweeted Activists of Yuva Sena and BJP clashed with each other near Ranes residence on Juhu Tara Road in Santacruz West on Tuesday in the wake of his would have slapped comments against CM Thackeray Stones were pelted from both sides following which police used cane-charge to disperse the agitators an official had said PTI ND NSK NSK

Mumbai Aug 24 PTI A court at Mahad in Raigad district of Maharashtra on Tuesday night granted bail to Union minister Narayan Rane arrested over his controversial remark against state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray which triggered a political row and protestsThe BJP leader faces four FIRs across Maharashtra over his remark that he would have slapped Thackeray over the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence Rane was produced before Judicial Magistrate Shaikhbabaso S Patil at 945 pm following his arrest in the afternoon Government pleader Bhushan Salvi sought seven-day police custody for the BJP leader to conduct further investigation It was important to investigate if there was a conspiracy to tarnish the reputation of the chief minister he saidOpposing the application Ranes lawyers Aniket Nikam and Bhau Salunkhe argued that his health condition was serious as he was 69 years old and suffered from sugar and blood pressure issues Nikam further argued that the offenses under IPC for which Rane was arrested were all punishable with less than seven years and hence his custody was unnecessary Nikam also argued that Ranes arrest was illegal as no summons was issued to him under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure before his arrest Court after hearing both the sides denied the police the Union ministers custodyIt instead remanded him in judicial custody and then on the plea moved by his lawyers granted Rane bail on a surety of Rs 15000 Rane was also asked to mark his presence at the Mahad police station on August 30 and September 13If the police wanted to collect Ranes voice sample they will intimate him and he shall cooperate the court saidHe was arrested on Tuesday afternoon by the Ratnagiri police and taken to Mahad in Raigad district The FIR at Mahad was registered under IPC sections 189 threat of injury to public servant 504 intentional insult to provoke breach of public peace and 505 statements conducive to public mischief PTI AVI SP DC KRK KRK KRK

Aurangabad Aug 24 PTI BJP workers on Tuesday staged a protest here against the Maharashtra government over the arrest of the party MP and Union minister Narayan Rane The activists staged a road blockade at the Kranti chowk square in the largest city in the Marathwada region and raised slogans against the state government They also burnt images of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray an official said Narayan Ranes arrest is illegal He is arrested out of revenge We will agitate against ministers of Shiv Sena and NCP in Aurangabad district BJP president Sanjay Kenekar said Rane was arrested on Tuesday over his controversial remarks against CM Thackeray which triggered a political row and protests Rane had said that he would have slapped Thackeray who heads Sena over the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence PTI AW NSK NSK

Mumbai Aug 24 PTI Activists of the Shiv Senas youth wing and the BJP clashed with each other near Union minister Narayan Ranes residence in Mumbai on Tuesday in the wake of his comments against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray police said Stones were pelted from both sides following which police used cane-charge to disperse the agitators an official said Shiv Sena workers sat on the Juhu Tara Road in Santacruz West near Ranes residence and activists from both the sides shouted slogans against each other the official said Following the incident the road was blocked from two sides disrupting traffic in the area The road was opened for traffic later in the day The additional police force was deployed in the area the official said The clash took place during a protest organised by activists of the Yuva Sena the Shiv Senas youth wing against Union minister Rane he added BJP workers had gathered outside Ranes residence in the morning in support of their party leader while Shiv Sena activists including women carrying placards and shouting slogans against Rane assembled outside the office of the Yuva Sena located nearby in Juhu Heavy police security was deployed outside Ranes residence the official said Police registered three FIRs regarding the clash outside Ranes residence at Santacruz police station and Kasturba Marg police station an official said Two cross FIRs were registered in the Santacruz police station against eight to ten persons who have been identified and other unidentified persons under the Epidemic Diseases Act National Disaster Management Act and other sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC including rioting These cross FIRs mentioned 50 workers of Yuva Sena and some BJP workers he said A third FIR was registered against six identified persons and 80 to 90 unidentified people in the Kasturba Marg police station the official added Police are analysing CCTV footage and videos being circulated on social media Video clips aired on news channels may be used as evidence later against the people involved in the clash he said Rane who was recently inducted into the Union cabinet had sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray for what he claimed as the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence The Union minister was arrested later on Tuesday after FIRs were registered against him PTI DC ZA GK NSK NSK NSK

Nagpur Aug 24 PTI Amid a row sparked by Union minister Narayan Ranes remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray the BJP leaders cabinet colleague Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said Rane didnt intend to insult the CM and he will clarify his statement A huge political firestorm erupted in Maharashtra over Ranes remarks about slapping Chief Minister Thackeray for what he claimed as the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence Irate Sena activists are holding protests in various cities against the remarks Rane only meant that Thackeray is not doing anything for the development of Maharashtra and he seldom steps out of his residence Matoshree in Mumbai to understand the problems faced by the people Rane meant that such a chief minister does not have the right to occupy the chair This was his feeling the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment told reporters Rane didnt mean to insult the chief minister He will clear his stand on this issue the RPIA leader said Athawale also said Rane just vented his anger as the expectations of people from the chief minister were not getting fulfilled A CM must ensure justice for all He is also expected to ensure the generation of jobs But nothing is happening in Maharashtra on these fronts in the last two years Ranes real cause of anger was the lack of development in Maharashtra Athawale added PTI CLS NSK NSK

Mumbai Aug 24 PTI Union minister Narayan Rane approached the Bombay High Court on Tuesday challenging the FIRs lodged against him over his remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and sought protection from arrest Ranes petition filed through advocate Aniket Nikam sought the FIRs to be quashed The BJP leader also sought an interim order granting him protection from arrest or any coercive action The petition was mentioned before a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar seeking urgent hearing on Tuesday itself The bench however refused to hear it and said mentioning of the petition was not allowed and asked the lawyer to follow the procedure File an application before the Registry department seeking urgent hearing and then we will consider the court said The petition has challenged the FIRs lodged against Rane in Pune Nashik and Mahad in Raigad Rane had sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping CM Thackeray for what he claimed as the latters ignorance of the year of Indias independence Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued orders for the immediate arrest of Rane after an FIR was registered against him in the north Maharashtra city over his remarks against the CM PTI SP GK GK