Independent MP Navneet Rana, who is currently lodged in Byculla women’s jail in Mumbai, in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla claimed that she was denied basic human rights including water in the jail and also accused the prison authorities of discrimination as she belonged to the Scheduled Caste.
“I emphatically state that basic human rights such as drinking water was denied to me on the ground that I belong to Scheduled Caste (Neechi Zaat). Further, when I wanted to use the bathroom at the night, police staff paid no heed to my demands. I was again abused in the most filthy language… I was told that we don’t let people from Neechi Zaat Scheduled Castes use our bathroom,” she wrote in the letter to the speaker.
Independent MLA Ravi Rana and his wife, Amravati MP Navneet Rana, meanwhile, moved the Bombay high court to quash an FIR registered against them under section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC. The court will hear the matter at 2:30 pm.
Rana’s lawyers said that they are filing a quashing petition seeking an order for no coercive action. “This FIR cannot be allowed to continued because the moment the bail is granted in this FIR, they will arrest her in the other FIR. I am told there are FIRs in Pune, Osmanabad and Amravati,” the lawyers added. The lawyers are present in the court and the bench is about to hear the matter.
Reacting to the controversy, NCP leader Sharad Pawar said that religious activities should be performed at home and added that the chief minister is an institution and should be given respect.
“If you want to do some religious activities, do it at home. Don’t insist on going to someone else’s house… The Chief Minister is not an individual but an institution and he should be given due respect,” Pawar said.
Another NCP leader from Mumbai, Fahmida Hasan has written to Union home minister Amit Shah to grant permission to chant the same Hindu devotional hymn outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
Hasan has demanded to chant devotional versus from other religions too, along with Hanuman Chalisa. “These chants will help in solving national issues like unemployment, inflation and low GDP in the country,” the NCP leader said in her sarcasm-laced letter.
Guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar, who couldn’t control his anger over the controversy, used slangs for the MP-MLA couple. “The chief minister must chant Hanuman Chalisa, if he does not read, then we will go to Matoshree and make him recite the versus. ‘Arey tere baap ka kya jaata hai? Tujhe jo bolna hai bol’ (Is your father at loss? You blabber whatever you have to). Whatever you’ve to go, go and chant the Chalisa. ‘Lekin nahi, nahi. Uddhav Thackeray ko hi bolna chahiye. Tere baap ka naukar hai kya (But no, only Uddhav is supposed to recite. Is he your father’s servant)? Such people are using Hanuman Chalisa to spread enmnity among people. Hanuman Chalisa is recited in every household. Indians seek Lord Hanuman’s blessings before their wedding,” Wadettiwar was quoted as saying by local media.
The Hanuman Chalisa row in Maharashtra began after MLA Ravi Rana and his wife, MP Navneet Rana, announced that they would recite the chant outside chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence. This came in the wake of MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s ultimatum that the party would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques if their loudspeakers were not removed by May 3.
The Rana couple had demanded that Uddhav Thackeray should chant it on Hanuman Jayanti outside Matoshree, failing which they said they would come to Mumbai and recite it outside Matoshree. The dare didn’t go down well with the Shiv Sainiks, who barged into their house, ‘threatened’ them and ‘heckled’ them. Hundreds of workers long with Mumbai police guarded Matoshree on the day of MP-MLA’s planned protest.
By Saturday evening, the issue snowballed and the two leaders were taken into custody and booked for “promoting enmity between different groups” by Khar police. The couple in turn submitted a written complaint to Mumbai Police requesting it to book Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena leaders Anil Parab, Sanjay Raut as well as 700 people present outside their residence.
On Sunday, they were presented before the holiday bench of the Bandra court, which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days. The Mumbai police also arrested some Shiv Sainiks, following Ranas’ complaint. So far a total of 16 workers have been arrested, the search for the rest is on. Mumbai police said that they will present them all in a court on Monday.
Reacting to the controversy, the Shiv Sena, in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ wrote, “The Rana couple wanted to chant Hanuman Chalisa at national level. They should’ve instead chanted it at the residences of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.”
The CM Uddhav-led party further said, “Chanting of Hanuman Chalisa is not banned in Maharashtra, then why did they want to chant it in front of Matoshree? BJP’s frustrated mind is behind this.”
Meanwhile, Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana were shifted to Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai late on Sunday. Ravi was earlier lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail, while Navneet was sent to Byculla women’s jail. But the duo had to be moved out due to “overcrowding”.
Mumbai Police have slapped the sedition charge on the Independent lawmaker couple. “Charges under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 124-A (sedition) are made out against them as they had challenged the government machinery and made remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,” public prosecutor Pradip Gharat said.
The court will hear their bail application on April 29, he added. Under Section 124A of IPC, the offence of sedition is committed when any person by words or otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law.
Speaking to reporters in Nashik, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil termed “appropriate” the arrest of the Rana couple.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also stepped in the row a day ago. The party had organised ‘Hanuman Chalisa recital’ on Twitter Spaces. However, they’ve alleged that their someone has blocked their platform for live audio conversations.
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