Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday challenged Amravati Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana to get elected from the seat once again, adding that anyone who tried to test the patience of his party would be "buried 20 feet beneath the earth".
Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana had announced that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Matoshree, the private residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, on Saturday morning, a move that saw strident protests from Shiv Sainiks, who laid siege to the Khar home of the Independent legislators all through the day.
The couple, however, withdrew their stir in the afternoon claiming they did not want law and order problems during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mumbai on Sunday for an award function.
Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Raut said some "bogus people" were trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state and were being backed by the BJP.
Without naming the couple, Raut said those claiming they would recite Hanuman Chalisa had once opposed Hindutva and the Ayodhya Ram Temple movement.
"I want to request them not play with Shiv Sena and 'Matoshree', otherwise, they would be buried 20 feet beneath the earth. Do not test the patience of Shiv Sainiks," Raut said.
He also alleged the Centre was helping Navneet Rana, who is embroiled in a legal battle over her caste certificate.
"She used a bogus certificate to fight and win the Lok Sabha poll from Amravati. It is a scam and the Centre is helping her. She lost the case in the High Court and now the case is going on in the Supreme Court," he claimed.
Speaking on the chances of President's Rule in Maharashtra due to the events over the past couple of days, Raut said it was not wise to threaten the state government repeatedly.
"We very well know when and why President's Rule is implemented. Maharashtra has seen mischievous people who tried to implement President's Rule by opening the governor's office at 4 am. So do not teach us the Constitution. Teach it to the governor, who is sitting on many important files over the past two-and-half years," the Sena Rajya Sabha MP alleged.
He was referring to the swearing-in of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister for the second time after the 2019 Assembly polls with the support of NCP's Ajit Pawar. That government, however, lasted for 80 hours as Pawar resigned as deputy CM.
Raut said he would visit Amravati soon and challenged Rana to win from the seat again, adding that anyone who planned to play with the Sena must be ready for the consequences.
The state has never seen such a low level of politics as was being played by the BJP, Raut added.
