MUMBAI: The state Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has resumed his battle against Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh soon after Congress President Sonia Gandhi left Mumbai for Delhi on Friday.
Rane hurriedly called a special press conference at the state secretariat on Sunday and said that he has taken a vow to take his battle against Deshmukh to its final end.
Apart from Deshmukh, Rane also targeted former Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president and senior Congress Member of Parliament Gurudas Kamat.
Seething with anger, which was writ large on his face, Rane said “Enough is enough. No more humiliation. I have run out of patience. I am going to expose all my detractors. Big people talk of ideas and are great but small people talk cheap of other people. Every time when I come close to the chief minister’s chair, some people in my party conspire to tarnish my image and pull me down.”
Referring to the unruly incident at Sonia Gandhi’s rally at NSE ground, Goregaon, on Thursday, Rane said, “The protesters were associates of Mumbai Youth Congress president Sunil Ahire and municipal councilor Sameer Desai. You all know who are their political godfathers,” clearly hinting at Deshmukh and Kamat. Desai is Kamat’s nephew, and Ahire is close to Deshmukh.
Accusing Deshmukh of sabotage, he added, “If somebody wants to continue as chief minister he could, but not at the cost of running down others.” To prove his point, he said, “The chief minister did nothing to silence the protesters at Thursday’s rally. How come there was no protest when the CM was making his speech? Instead, there was thunderous applause. He even whispered to other ministers on stage, ‘The protesters are my supporters’. It has been conveyed to Gandhi.”
A strange twist to the drama in the Deshmukh-Rane war of words came to the front when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said at public function yesterday, that Rane was not responsible for the ruckus that took place in front of Sonia Gandhi at a party function last Thursday.
“I know Narayan Rane well. He would never do something like this,” Raj said. Both Raj and Rane are known to be fond of each other, back from the days when both were still with the Shiv Sena.
