On Saturday, as soon as the Ranas were ready to leave for Matoshree in Bandra East, the Shiv Sainiks gathered in large numbers and kept chanting slogans against the politician couple.
Mumbai: A large number of Shiv Sainiks on Saturday reached the residence of Independent MLA Ravi Rana and his wife MP Navneet Rana after the couple’s announcement on Friday that they would reach Matoshree — the official residence of the Thackerays — and recite the Hanuman Chalisa to ward off the calamities taking place in Maharashtra ever since Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has taken over.
The new buzz around reciting the Hanuman Chalisa in Maharashtra started after the chief of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray, had said his party would play the Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques if the government fails to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3.
On Saturday, as soon as the Ranas were ready to leave for Matoshree in Bandra East, the Shiv Sainiks gathered in large numbers and kept chanting slogans against the politician couple. While there was heavy deployment of police personnel at the Khar residence of the Ranas, the agitated workers managed to break the barricades and tried to enter the couple’s home.
Meanwhile, Ravi said, “Police aren’t allowing us to step outside our house. Shiv Sena workers trying to attack our residence…We’ve always considered ‘Matoshree’ as a temple…Uddhav Thackeray only seeking political gains. Maharashtra CM ordered Shiv Sena workers to heckle us. They are breaking the barricades. I am reiterating that I’ll go outside and will chant Hanuman Chalisa at Matroshree. The CM only knows how to throw people in jail.”
However, the police stopped the protestors from entering the house. Meanwhile, a different group of Shiv Sena workers gathered at Matoshree in order to stop the couple from coming and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa.
Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, while speaking to the media over the incident, said, “Today, the Shiv Sainiks are not under anybody’s control. Since the Ranas had said they would enter Matoshree, the Shiv Sainiks entered their homes.”
Adding further and reacting to BJP’s call for a President’s Rule in Maharashtra, Raut said, “Don’t try to scare us with the President’s Rule. We (Shiv Sena) are not afraid of the President’s Rule, CBI or ED. Balasaheb (Thackeray) used to say that we are not born for power but the power is for us. Shiv Sena itself is a power. You can taste it if you want to.”
