NEW DELHI: The three governing parties of Maharashtra – Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress – have alleged that the controversy triggered by independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana over recital of Hanuman Chalisa outside chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence is aimed at destabilising the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.
The three coalition partners have also accused the state’s principal opposition party BJP and Uddhav’s cousin Raj Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of being behind the Rana couple in sparking the controversy.
They alleged that the main aim of the opposition was to create unrest in Maharashtra and make it an alibi for imposition of President’s rule and toppling of the MVA government in the state.
Shiv Sena
Talking to TOI, Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said Navneet Rana would have been welcome to recite the Hanuman Chalisa had she been a true Hindu bhakt but she was using religion for ulterior motives.
Chaturvedi said Navneet Rana was embroiled in a controversy regarding her “fake caste certificate”. The case is sub judice in the Supreme Court after she lost the case in the Mumbai High Court, she said.
Navneet Rana represents the reserved Scheduled Caste (SC) constituency of Amravati in Lok Sabha. She had threatened to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai. The police have arrested her and her husband. They face charges of sedition and promoting enmity between communities. The couple is in judicial custody.
The Shiv Sena MP further said Navneet’s stand over Hanuman Chalisa was dubious as she had protested against the Jai Shri Ram slogan in the past.
Chaturvedi said, “She (Navneet) is a paid agent of BJP. She has raked up the Hanuman Chalisa issue to create a divide in society. It is going to be a big defeat for her. We do not want the hate politics of Uttar Pradesh in Maharashtra. Hindutva is a way of life, as interpreted by the Supreme Court but it is unfortunately being used for petty politics. The intention is to divide people. Will PMO allow someone to recite Akhand Ramayan Path outside the PM’s residence?”
Nationalist Congress Party
NCP’s chief spokesperson Mahesh Bharat Tapase alleged that the controversy was hatched to topple the MVA government in Maharashtra. He told TOI that NCP was not against the recital of Hanuman Chalisa. “Faith and religion are personal matters. They are better practised inside the sanctity of home or temple. However, it is being used by Raj Thackeray to create social discord. The MVA government is promoting social harmony. This has upset the opposition parties.”
Tapase alleged that Raj Thackeray and BJP were backing the Ranas to create discord in society.
He said, “Raj has been attacking a particular community. It is by design. It is obvious who would have supplied this agenda to the Rana couple. They have come all the way from Amravati and have been issuing provocative and personal statements against Uddhav.”
Tapase accused the Ranas of attempting to provoke Shiv Sainiks in such a way that the situation became unruly. "Lord Hanuman is being used as a political tool to break the social fabric," he said.
“BJP has been trying to destabilise the MVA government for the past two-and-a-half years. They first tried to lure our MLAs but failed. Subsequently, they made fictitious allegations against our government but even that did not succeed. Now they are using the Ranas to create unrest in the state and impose President’s rule on the basis of breakdown of law and order machinery. This seems to be their plan,” the NCP leader added.
Tapase urged Maharashtra Police to inquire into the “conspiracy” to create political instability. “We have strong doubts about the role of the Ranas, Rane (BJP leader and Union minister Narayan Rane) and Fadnavis (BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis),” he said.
The NCP leader cited Bombay high court's ruling rejecting Navneet's plea to quash the case against her. The court said the state government's action was "justified in its apprehension that it could create a law-and-order problem".
"A declaration that a person would recite religious verses at another person's place or at a public place is a breach of the personal liberty of the other person... With great power comes great responsibility (and) persons in public life are expected to act responsibly," the judges said.
Congress
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam condemned Navneet Rana’s stand over the Hanuman Chalisa issue. “This is not good. The Mumbai High Court observed that no one can encroach into the private space of anybody,” he said.
The former Lok Sabha MP alleged that the Ranas were deliberately trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state. He exhorted the police to take strict action against the Ranas.
“Politically, it is not a good move. Shiv Sainiks were sleeping but now they have woken up due to this row,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed it was a well-planned conspiracy against the MVA government. “The BJP is behind Raj Thackeray and his MNS. (Union minister) Nitin Gadkari met Raj after the latter attacked the MVA government recently. It is obvious that this is a joint plan. Navneet is against Shiv Sena and is close to BJP,” he said.
Nirupam accused Navneet of trying to come into the limelight with the help of this controversy. “Will this issue serve any public cause? Nothing. But they come into the limelight. Their purpose of coming into the limelight has succeeded but no public cause has been fulfilled,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP has termed the police action against the Ranas as "Hitlershahi".
Fadnavis said, "This is happening at the CM's instructions... If Hanuman Chalisa is not chanted in Maharashtra will it be chanted in Pakistan? If reciting Hanuman Chalisa is sedition, then all of us will indulge in this sedition and if the government has the guts, it should charge us for sedition."
