An old video showing Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray talking about hitting Yogi Adityanath with a slipper is doing the rounds on social media, a day after Shiv Sena filed multiple cases against Union Minister Narayan Rane for saying that he would ‘slap Thackeray’.

The comment, purportedly made by Uddhav Thackeray, resurfaced after Rane was arrested, and later released on bail, for his comment against the Maharashtra chief minister. In the video, Thackeray can be heard talking about hitting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with slippers.

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“How can he be a Chief Minister? He is a yogi so he should give up everything and sit in a cave – he sits in the chief minister’s chair and calls himself a yogi. He has to understand the ties between UP and Maharashtra. A priest from UP, Gagabhatt, came for Shivaji’s coronation. And this Yogi came like a balloon filled with air. He wore chappals (slippers) while garlanding Shivaji. I felt like hitting him with the same chappal. Who are you to even stand before a statue of Maharaj?” Thackeray said in the 2018 video, reports ndtv.

Many social media users asked how this was different from the comment made by Rane. Rane was arrested yesterday after the Shiv Sena filed multiple cases against him over the comment that he would slap Thackeray. 

“It is shameful that the Chief Minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to ask about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap,” Rane said at  a “Jan Ashirwad Yatra.”

This was followed by Sena filing several cases against Rane and he was arrested in the evening. Later in the night, the minister was granted bail.

Also read: After Narayan Rane’s arrest, son Nitesh tweets video hinting at ‘strong reply’

Meanwhile, the Nashik police have issued a notice to Rane, asking him to appear before them for questioning on September 2, an official said on Wednesday. Rane also has been directed to join the investigation as and when required and cooperate in the probe into the case, he said.