Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its desperation to oust the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is orchestrating the 'Hanuman Chalisa' row.
"The recent ruckus stirred up by the BJP in the name of Hindutva cannot be supported...the BJP is behind this (controversy). They had planned to disturb the peace of Mumbai using (MP-MLA) Rana couple and everything happened on their instructions that outraged the Shiv Sena workers and the couple was not allowed to step outside their house," the 'Saamana' editorial argued.
Slamming Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana for their changing political affiliations, 'Saamana' stated that "there is no assurance over the ideological affiliations of this couple". MP Navneet Rana had opposed lawmakers who were taking oath in the name of Lord Ram in Parliament, it said, adding "it's astonishing that today the BJP is dancing around at the behest of the said MP over the issues like 'Hanuman Chalisa' and other Hindutava issues".
The editorial further argued that the "couple faked their caste certificates in order to contest the election from a reserved seat".
"Mrs Rana contested the Lok Sabha election from Amravati on the basis of a fake caste certificate. Navneet Kaur Rana and her father Harbhajan Singh Kundless submitted fake documents for getting a caste certificate. Amravati Lok Sabha is a reserved seat and to contest election from that seat Rana got fake caste certificate," said 'Saamana'.
On Saturday, Amravati Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana, an MLA, had announced their plan to chant 'Hanuman Chalisa' outside 'Matoshree', the private residence of the state Chief Minster Uddhav Thackeray.
Following this, Shiv Sena workers protested outside the residence of Navneet and Ravi Rana in their bid to stop them from reaching the Chief Minister's residence.
The Ranas have withdrawn their plan to chant 'Hanuman Chalisa' amid protests from Shiv Sena workers.
Meanwhile, Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana were sent to judicial custody on Sunday for 14-days by the Holiday and Sunday court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Bandra.
The MP-MLA couple's application will be heard by the court on April 29. The Mumbai Police has asked them to file their say on the bail plea on April 27.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
