Mumbai North Central member of parliament Varsha Gaikwad wrote to the commissioner of Mumbai Police demanding to book Kankavali’s member of legislative assembly Nitesh Rane for his alleged communal threat to the Muslim community in Ahmednagar on Sunday. The Congress MP has also asked for retraction of police safety provided to Rane.
Rane had allegedly issued a threat to the Muslim community at the Sakal Hindu Samaj Movement’s gathering on Sunday, where he threatened to kill the community members if they do anything to Ramgiri Maharaj. The remarks have sparked widespread outrage within the community and the opposition leaders have also called out the communal threat issued by the MLA.
On Monday, Gaikwad wrote to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar demanding the police to take strict actions against Rane and book him for his inflammatory statement. The MP also demanded that all the statements made by him in the last six months should be investigated by the police and to withdraw the police security provided to him. The parliamentarian has claimed that if the police do not take strict action against Rane, she will take the issue to the streets.
Gaikwad also alleged that the police are playing a role of the bystander while Rane was making threats to the Muslim community. She also added that the police are treating opposition party leaders and workers like “terrorists and criminals”. She also alleged that attempts are being made to disturb the social harmony in multiple constituencies of Mumbai, in the wake of the Vidhan Sabha elections.
“It is not befitting of the police force that the police are treating the ruling party and the opposition differently. If there are riots in the state due to deterioration of the religious atmosphere, then the police department will be fully responsible for it. Maintaining social cohesion is very important for our country but some people in the state are consciously working to create a rift between various castes and religions,” said the letter.
