Union minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday defended his remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying he hasn't committed any crime by making them.
On speculation that he will be arrested in this case, Rane said he was not a 'normal' man and cautioned the media against such reportage.
"I haven't committed any crime. You should verify and show it on TV or else I will file a case against you (media). Despite not committing any crime, the media is showing speculative news about my 'imminent' arrest.
"Do you think I am a normal (ordinary) man?" Rane told reporters at Chiplun in the coastal Konkan region.
Asked about cases filed by Shiv Sena workers against him over his remarks, Rane shot back, "Shiv Sena who?"
Rane has sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter's ignorance of the year of India's independence.
Heavy police security was deployed outside Rane's residence in Mumbai on Tuesday in the wake of his remarks against the Maharashtra CM, an official said.
Bharatiya Janata Party workers gathered outside Rane's residence on Juhu Tara Road in Santacruz (West) in the morning in support of their party leader.
Besides, Shiv Sena workers, including women, carrying placards and shouting slogans against Rane, assembled outside an office of the Yuva Sena (the party's youth wing), located nearby in Juhu.
A posse of police personnel, including women cops, were deployed outside Rane's residence to prevent any untoward incident, the official said.
Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued orders for the immediate arrest of Rane and a team of the city police left for Chiplun in Konkan region, where Rane is present now, after a complaint against the Union minister over the remarks.
A case was also registered against Rane in Pune, while the Shiv Sena lodged a complaint against him at a police station in Aurangabad.
Won't defend, but also won't express regret: Maha BJP chief on Rane's remarks
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil, meanwhile, distanced himself from Rane's remarks.
"I am not defending Rane's comments, but I will also not express regret," Patil told a regional news channel.
Patil wondered how a state could plan to arrest a Union minister.
"Is there no administrative procedure?" he asked.
"People who are pointing fingers at Rane should not forget that there have been several instances of Uddhav Thackeray using inflammatory language," the BJP leader said.
Mumbai BJP MLA Ram Kadam defended the Union minister and said, "Rane is know for his aggressiveness. There could be a difference of opinion over his choice of words."
He alleged that from the day of commencement of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government was trying to misuse power and hinder Rane's rally.
"This is cheating by the state government. The state government is scared because of the massive response garnered by his rally," the legislator told a news channel.
He also claimed that Thackeray as CM had earlier made controversial statements and also used inflammatory language.
"However, it was conveniently ignored by people as well as the state machinery," Kadam said.
BJP leader Pramod Jathar, who is co-ordinating Rane's yatra in Ratnagiri district, said, "Rane's language is similar to that of late Balasaheb Thackeray (the founder of Shiv Sena). The Jan Ashirwad Yatra will continue for sure."
Asked about Rane's remarks, he said, "CM Thackeray forgetting the year of independence is more insulting. Rane only expressed feelings of the common man."
However, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed the BJP was trying disturb the harmony in Maharashtra, and said "there will be repercussions" if a person makes controversial remarks.
"The state will not accept this kind of language. Rane has not only insulted CM Thackeray, but also the people of this state. If a person makes controversial remarks, there will be repercussions," said Malik, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.
He also claimed that the BJP was trying to do politics, 'like it did in West Bengal by inciting violence'.
"The BJP must understand that Maharashtra will not get into it," he added.
