MP Navneet Rana needles Thackeray, proclaims herself as ‘Hindu Sherni’

Mumbai: On Ram Navami day, independent MP from Amravati, Navneet Ravi Rana attempted to needle her bete-noire, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, here on Thursday.

Almost a year after the famous ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ row which saw Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana cooling their heels in jail, the woman MP on Thursday hit back.

Posters of the actress-turned-politician Navneet Rana proclaiming her as a ‘Hindu Sherni’ (Hindu Tigress) were seen near Thackeray’s home ‘Matoshri’ in Bandra east, Thane, Amravati and other places.

Drawing comparisons with Lord Ram’s 14-year exile, Navneet Rana (37) is shown sporting a saffron colour sari on the posters which said ‘Rajdroh & 14 days in jail’.

She also announced that on April 6 on Hanuman Jayanti Day, a 111-feet tall grand statue of Lord Hanuman would be unveiled in Amravati followed by a mass recital of ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ there.

The posters have an image of Lord Ram at the top right corner and photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and her husband Ravi Rana, and one picture of Lord Hanuman’s statue to be inaugurated next month.

Earlier in the morning, Navneet Rana set the tone for Ram Navami celebrations by riding a Bullet motorcycle, sporting a stark black salwar-kurta suit with a bright orange headgear, raising full-throated slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’, several times, while speeding carefree on a deserted road on the power-bike in her hometown.

It may be recalled that last year in April, Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana and their supporters attempted to chant ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ outside Thackeray’s Bandra home, much to the chagrin of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government then in power.

However, the MVA regime did not permit the Ranas to have their way, they detained the law-makers, arrested them and shunted them to jail amidst a huge row that went on for several days even as the Thackeray government fell after barely three months in June 2022. Later, the Ranas were granted bail by a special court.