Maharashtra: As the row over the Amravati ink throwing case and the removal of the statue of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj intensifies, Ravi Rana, an independent MLA representing the Badnera in Amravati district of Maharashtra has accused CM Uddhav Thackery of running a "corrupt and inefficient" government.
Addressing the media personnel from his house in North Avenue, Delhi on Tuesday, Rana said, "All the speculations about me being on the run and the police looking out for me are false and baseless. Look what happened in Amravati with the unfortunate politicization of the statue of Shivaji Maharaj. It's deeply shocking and I am being intentionally dragged into this issue".
"At the time of that incident, I was in Delhi and even then I was being framed by the police. They planted Section 307 against me, which is a very serious offence. Let me make it very clear that I am not on the run. I am in Delhi and if CM Uddhav Thackeray believes that I should be arrested, then kindly send the police. Till now, I haven't received any call from the police. If the police calls me, I'll be the first one to voluntarily go straightaway to my hometown, Maharashtra."
Taking a dig at the ruling Shiv Sena government, Rana alleged that the government of Maharashtra is "filled with people who are corrupt and do not care about the poor, unemployed, and farmers". "People are being arrested here without any offence. What kind of a situation is this?" he asked.
"Maharashtra is heading towards the President's rule because the government here is inefficacious. Though we have a CM in this state, ordinary people do not see him as a CM. This just shows the failed state of the Maharashtra government," he said. He reiterated that Maharashtra is "becoming like Bihar" and people are "fed up with the inefficiency" of the ruling Shiv Sena government.
Launching a series of attacks on the Shiv Sena for indulging in "crime and corruption", Rana said, "I have all the evidence of illegal properties owned by CM Uddhav's brother-in-law and I will soon hand over the documents in a sealed letter to the ED." Reacting to Sanjay Raut's statement mentioning the '3.5 people', he said, "I would like to clarify that I have the record of '4.75' people and will hand over this to ED in a sealed letter."
Moreover, he also added that the way his wife and MP Navneet Rana was treated was "very insulting". "She was being forced to wait for an hour and even faced rumpus which clearly shows that she was treated very badly on purpose. In the coming days, she will raise her voice in Parliament. Those officers who are guilty should be suspended and she will raise the suspension issue in the parliament too," he said.