MP Navneet Rana dares CM Thackeray, Sena questions her 'aukaat'

Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, May 8 (IANS) As independent MP Navneet Kaur-Rana again dared Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to an electoral challenge, the Shiv Sena on Sunday contemptuously asked her to first prove her "aukaat" (standing).

Navneet Kaur-Rana, challenged Thackeray to go before the masses, contest and win any seat of his choice in the state as she would stand against him in the upcoming elections.

An amused Sena leader Kishore Tiwari wondered why she was so keen to take on the CM instead of concentrating on her Lok Sabha constituency and the peoples' problems there.

"What's her 'aukaat' here? She should be challenging some national level Bharatiya Janata Party leader instead to prove her worth. Does any of the remaining 47 MPs from Maharashtra talk like this? She's clearly misguided and acting at the behest of some frustrated BJP leaders," he said.

Sena spokesperson Dr. Manisha Kayande said the 'Bunty-Babli' (Rana) couple was arrested, and Babli (Navneet Kaur-Rana) was cribbing and crying in jail and hospital, but now after her discharge, she has suddenly become so energetic.

"Make her MRI report also public, let the people know what exactly was wrong with her... She was seen today standing and talking for hours with the media, flouting the court orders," Kayande said, raising doubts on here claims and contentions.

Ex-Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar hit out at Navneet Kaur-Rana saying she's "itching to get back to jail" with her statements, though barred by the courts and the (Rana) couple is deliberately trying to foment riots in Maharashtra, but they won't succeed.

On Navneet Kaur-Rana's gauntlet, Pednekar dismissively asked: "What's her 'layakee' to talk like this? They just want to ignite disturbances through their backdoor supporters who give them energy."

Tiwari added that if she was so confident, then Navneet Kaur-Rana should contest the next elections from an open constituency as even her caste certificate was proved fake last time.

"The Ranas know very well that without dragging in Thackeray or Sharad Pawar, they will not get any mileage in media... They have violated the court orders and the government will take appropriate action against them," he said.

Kayande advised that instead of resorting to such dramatics, the Ranas must speak on inflation, unemployment and other problems.

"They just want to go back to jail. They must realise that these are the Thackerays. Many like her have come in the past and gone into oblivion," she said.

Pednekar said that Navneet Kaur-Rana is a MP and should behave like one instead of attacking the CM in such a manner just because there's freedom of speech here.

"We thought our Babli would have grown up... But no, she's still immature," said Pednekar in another swipe at the former actress-turned-politician.

Earlier on Sunday, Navneet Kaur-Rana announced plans to campaign for the ensuing BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections to uproot what she alleged was the "Lanka of corruption" built by the Shiv Sena which is ruling it for over two decades.

"What was my crime.. If chanting Hanuman Chalisa is a crime, then why only 14 days, I am ready to go to jail for 14 years," she asserted.

The reference was to the arrest of her husband and herself on April 23 after they planned to go to the private residence of CM Thackeray in Bandra east and recite Hanuman Chalisa.

Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat said that the Ranas' media interactions on Sunday apparently violate the court's order granting conditional bail to the politician couple.

"I have examined the conditions again and watched the media clips. It clearly violates the court orders. Hence we are duty bound to inform the court of these developments," he said.

Stepping out on bail after 12 days in jail, Kaur-Rana had to be admitted to a private hospital for treatment and was discharged on Sunday.

Since her release, her video clips of weeping on her husband's arms and her MRI scan went viral, while a string of senior BJP leaders visited her in hospital or at home including Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, Kirit Somaiya, Ram Kadam and more.

Pointing out that she is a 'Mumbaichi mulgi' (daughter of Mumbai as she was born here), Navneet Kaur-Rana vowed to campaign in the BMC elections for like-minded parties to "throw out the Shiv Sena and its corrupt rule" from the country's biggest and richest civic body.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at [email protected])