Union Minister Narayan Rane was on Tuesday arrested by police over his comments about slapping Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. This comes a day after the BJP MP said Thackeray forgot India’s year of Independence during his speech on August 15 and that he would have slapped him had he been there. 

Rane was detained by police in Maharasthra’s coastal town of Ratnagiri, where he was travelling as part of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, news agency PTI reported. He was taken to the Sangameshwar police station, an official told PTI. 

Rane, who joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in July, is the first Union Minister to be arrested in over 20 years. The arrest comes after the Bombay High Court rejected three of Rane’s petitions to quash FIRs registered against him.  

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Rane reportedly complained of high blood pressure and sugar levels and a doctor has been called to examine him. 

During his Jan Ashirwad Yatra speech in Raigad district on Monday, Rane said, “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap”. 

He claimed the Shiv Sena supremo forgot India’s year of Independence during his address to the people and had to consult with his aides while delivering his speech. 

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An FIR was registered against Rane at Pune’s Chaturshringi Police Station following a complaint by the Yuva Sena for use of objectionable language against the Maharashtra CM. 

His comments also drew sharp reactions from Shiv Sena, the party with which Rane started his political career. Sena workers put several posters in Mumbai and other places, calling him a ‘kombdi chor’ (chicken stealer), a reference to the poultry shop he ran in Mumbai’s Chembur area five decades ago

Earlier today, Rane defended his comments, saying he did not commit any crime. Hours ahead of his arrest, he told the media he was not a “normal man” and warned the media against suggesting his arrest was imminent.