Union minister Narayan Rane on Saturday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will soon have to visit Uttar Pradesh to face "cases of defamation".
Rane was addressing a public rally in his home district Sindhudurg in coastal Maharashtra as part of his ongoing Jan Ashirwad Yatra.
"Cases of defamation are being filed against Uddhav Thackeray for allegedly saying that (UP chief minister) Yogi Adityanath should be beaten with a chappal (footwear). Now he will experience how it feels to go to Uttar Pradesh," the BJP leader said.
"What kind of chief minister is he (Uddhav Thackeray)? He only sits at home and attends functions. He should be going out and visiting places," Rane, who quit the Shiv Sena in 2005 after falling out with Thackeray, said.
Rane was arrested earlier this week for saying that he would have slapped Uddhav for latter's alleged ignorance about the year of India's independence while making speech on August 15.
After being released on bail, the BJP leader had alleged that Uddhav himself had said two years ago that Adityanath should be beaten with a chappal for garlanding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's portrait while wearing footwear at a function.
