Nagpur: MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana have created another controversy this time in Nagpur. The couple – Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana – faced similar protests from NCP workers in Nagpur after their clash with Shiv Sena workers over chanting of Hanuman Chalisa at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence.
Banners of the Rana couple were put up right in front of the NCP office in Nagpur while reciting Hanuman Chalisa at Ramnagar Hanuman temple. NCP workers, led by state vice president Prashant Pawar, set up a stage to raise slogans of ‘Sunderkand’ near the temple to counter Rana.
Heavy police arrangements were deployed in the temple premises and only after NCP workers dispersed, they performed aarti and chanted ‘Sundarkand’. The Rana couple was allowed to visit the temple after 2.10 pm. The atmosphere looked tense, but no untoward incident took place during the ‘puja’ from both the sides.
The couple’s decision to chant Hanuman Chalisa in different parts of Maharashtra had earlier triggered a sharp reaction among political parties. Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana were arrested by Mumbai Police on April 23 after the couple announced that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa outside ‘Matoshree’, the private residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. The announcement was followed by a prolonged high-voltage political drama, with Shiv Sainiks protesting outside the couple’s residence.
The Rana couple was returning to their assembly constituency for the first time after being released from jail. When he arrived here on Saturday, his supporters gave him a warm welcome at the airport.