Hanuman Chalisa plan at Matoshree brings Rana couple notice from Mumbai police – Times of India

MUMBAI: The clash between the Shiv Sena and Independent MLA Ravi Rana and his wife, MP Navneet Rana, is set to intensify with the couple announcing that they will recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s family home, Matoshree, on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Mumbai police served the couple a notice on Friday, asking them not to disturb the law and order situation in the city.
Soon after MNS chief Raj Thackeray gave an ultimatum that the party would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques if their loudspeakers were not removed by May 3, the Ranas 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.
In response, Shiv Sena leaders warned that the Rana couple would get a fitting response from the party rank and file if they did so.
Soon after the Ranas’ announcement on Friday, hundreds of Shiv Sainiks started gathering outside the building. The chief minister, who resides at his official residence Varsha in South Mumbai, arrived at Matoshree on Friday afternoon with his son, environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, and addressed the crowd. Shiv Sena leaders, including MPs Vinayak Raut and Anil Desai, were also present.
“Please go home. Nobody has the guts to come here. You have been here throughout the day. I request you to go home,” Thackeray told Shiv Sainiks. Former mayor Kishori Pednekar said Shiv Sainiks would guard Matoshree through the night till Saturday evening.
Ravi and Navneet Rana said they were unfazed by the police notice issued to them. “We will go there (Matoshree) to read the Hanuman Chalisa at 9am. We will cooperate with the police. I have asked our workers to ensure that law and order is not disturbed in Mumbai,” Ravi Rana said.
Ravi Rana said he had demanded that the chief minister read Hanuman Chalisa on Hanuman Jayanti to rid Maharashtra of crises and attain peace for the state. “The chief minister did not visit Mantralaya for two years during the Covid pandemic and did not meet MPs and MLAs from the state,” Rana alleged.
Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut, who was present outside Matoshree, accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to harass the Shiv-Sena-led coalition government in the state and using the Ranas and MNS chief Raj Thackeray as pawns.
“Mahaprasad is ready. Whoever comes will get it,” he told reporters cryptically. “But we want to show the BJP that the Shiv Sena is still alive. We have buried a dishonest friend like you. We are ready to bury you again.”