After her release from the Byculla jail on Thursday, Rana was admitted to the hospital. She has a history of spondylosis which reportedly increased due to continuously sitting and lying on the jail floor.
Mumbai: Moments after getting discharged from Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital, Amravati MP Navneet Rana on Sunday said that she is ready to be in jail for 10 years if reciting Hanuman Chalisa is a crime. She challenged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to contest against her.
“This one woman will stand in front of you and will respond to your unfair fight” the independent MP said, adding that, “I went through from atrocities. My back injury has become a major issue. I only requested the doctor to discharge me today but the doctor didn’t want to”.
After her release from the Byculla jail on Thursday, Rana was admitted to the hospital. She has a history of spondylosis which reportedly increased due to continuously sitting and lying on the jail floor. The MP was admitted after she and her husband, MLA Ravi Rana, who were arrested and booked for sedition for attempting to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s house, were released after court’s order.
Her husband had alleged that the jail staff did not pay attention towards his wife;s complain of health issues and requested hospitalisation. He, too, was released from Taloja jail on Thursday after court granted him bail.
Tussle over plan to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’, both Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana were arrested by the Mumbai police on April 23. The MP-MLA duo, amid hue and cry, had cancelled the plan citing the reasons that the PM Modi is visiting Mumbai tomorrow and they don’t want any law and order situation to arise.
Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana were booked by the police under IPC section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), and section 135 of the Mumbai Police Act (violation of prohibitory orders of police).
Opposition BJP had criticised Uddhav Thackeray government over the whole issue. Party leader Kirit Somaiya had allegedly attacked him while going to meet the arrested couple. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, sharpening his attack, had said that it is a total collapse of the law & order situation in Mumbai & Maharashtra.
Later, coming down heavily on the BJP over reciting Hanuman Chalisa in front of his residence, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said that chanting Hanuman Chalisa is not a problem but the ‘dadagiri’ is. Thackeray, in a stern warning, said, “If you want to come home to chant Hanuman Chalisa then you are welcomed but if you want to do dadagiri then we know how to break it up.”
The Chief Minister had categorically said that they will show what Bheema Roop and Maha Rudra is if anyone challenges the Shiv Sena. Their Hindutva is as strong as Gadadhari Hanuman.
He had said that the BJP is trying to portray that the Shiv Sena has left Hindutva. “What have we left? Is Hindutva a dhoti? That we put it on and take it off? We must remember one thing. Those who are lecturing us on Hindutva must ask themselves what they have done for Hindutva,” the Chief Minister had.
On Apil 4, Independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana were granted bail by a court in Mumbai on Wednesday. While granting the couple bail, special judge R N Rokade had said that they shall not commit a similar offence while on bail and not address the press on any subject related to the case.
In their plea, the couple had said that the call to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Matoshree (the Thackerays’ residence in Mumbai), cannot be said to be an act that promotes feelings of enmity or hatred and the charge under IPC Section 153(A) cannot be sustained. They had also submitted that the acts cannot be stated to constitute the offence of sedition.
The police had opposed the bail and had said that although their attempt “looks innocent”, the state BJP and the political opponents of Uddhav Thackeray are trying to create an atmosphere to show that the chief minister is against Hindus and not sponsoring the cause of Hinduism.
