Hanuman Chalisa row: Navneet Rana dares Uddhav Thackeray to face her in elections

(Photo credit: ANI)

New Delhi: Independent Amravati MP Navneet Rana, who triggered the Hanuman Chalisa row in Maharashtra, on Sunday challenged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to contest election against her and get elected directly by the people, PTI reported.

Adding that people of Maharashtra and Lord Ram will teach Shiv Sena a lesson, Rana, dared Thackeray to choose any constituency of his choice and face her in the next elections.

Talking to reporters on Sunday after being discharged from the hospital, Navneet Rana said, "I challenge Uddhav Thackeray ji to chose a constituency and get elected directly by people. I will fight against him."

"I will work hard with honesty and win the election, and he (the CM) will know the people's power," she said.

"What crime did I commit that I was jailed for 14 days? You can put me in jail for 14 years, but I will not stop chanting the names of Lord Ram and Hanuman. Mumbaikars and Lord Ram will teach the Shiv Sena a lesson in the civic polls," the parliamentarian said.

Navneet Rana to contest BMC election

The Independent MP also announced plans to campaign for the ensuing Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections and uproot what she alleged was the `Lanka of corruption` built by the Shiv Sena which is ruling it for over two decades.

Navneet Rana also said she will campaign in Mumbai and support 'Ram bhaktas (followers of Lord Ram) to end the "corrupt rule" of the Shiv Sena.

Rana, who was arrested and charged with sedition after she announced the recital of Hanuman Chalisa outside Uddhav Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’, was recently released on bail after 14 days in custody.

She was later admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital after a medical checkup. Her lawyer then said she had complaints of high blood pressure, body ache and spondylitis.

Though the Court had barred her from speaking to the media, she told media persons that she was allegedly ill-treated by the authorities at the Byculla Women Jail, forced to lie on a mat on the floor, and slammed the Sena and its leaders.

Shiv Sena president Thackeray, who became the CM in November 2019 after forging an alliance with the NCP and Congress, took oath as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council in May 2020. Prior to that, he was not a member of the state legislature.

This Shiv Sena shares power in the state with the NCP and Congress. The Thackeray-led party also controls the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Notably, CM Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray is the first from the family to enter the electoral fray.