Editorial: Unrest after a dramatic arrest

In a speech, Rane upbraided Uddhav Thackeray for his alleged ignorance about India’s independence, saying he would have slapped the Maharashtra Chief Minister if he were present. It was rash and irresponsible, something that is unbecoming of someone in a ministerial position. But it was probably not entirely surprising given that Rane is a politician who has built a reputation for his so-called ‘boldness’, which is a thinly disguised euphemism for intemperance. 

Having said this, the Maharashtra government grossly misused its power and breached the limits of propriety by ordering Rane’s arrest, which was preceded by several angry protests and a clutch of cases filed against the minister. For a man who projects himself as the leader of the Shiv Sena 2.0, a more sober responsible version of its earlier avatar, Uddhav Thackeray should have refrained from what is perceived as a lowly attempt to settle old political scores. The right thing would have been to respond politically to Rane’s low sneer. It is no secret that the two have a bitter history. Rane was number two to Bal Thackeray and quit the Sena (he went to the Congress first) when it became apparent that power would remain in the hands of the family. Rane’s entry and his recent elevation in the BJP is a part of a game plan. 

As someone who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra when the Sena was in power, Rane knows both the working of the State and his former party intimately. Local elections, including the one to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, are due shortly. The BJP also wants to recover Maharashtra at any cost and is still smarting about being left high and dry by its electoral ally, after the last Assembly poll. But personal enmities and political ambitions may, at best, only serve to explain the theatrical drama in Maharashtra that culminated in Rane’s arrest. They do not justify it. 

As for Rane, he has since attempted to interpret his arrest as a sign of Uddhav Thackeray’s nervousness about his political influence. “I have proven myself to be more than a match for anyone,” he boasted during a press conference. On its part, the Shiv Sena top brass probably believes that the arrest signals – to its delighted cadre as well as the larger community – who calls the shots in Maharashtra. It will hope that the ritual humiliation of the arrest, will puncture Rane’s image as a strongman who is capable of mounting an effective challenge. It is something of a shame that this politics of expediency has eclipsed the politics of civility in such a manner.