MP Navneet Rana alleges 'Sena MP threatened me' after she raised Vaze in LS; Sena refutes

As political crisis continues in Maharashtra over the Param Bir Singh letter, Independent MP Navneet Rana on Monday, alleged that ex-Union Minister Arvind Sawant (a Shiv Sena MP) had threatened to send her to jail for raising the Sachin Vaze issue in the Lok Sabha. Speaking to Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, she recounted her experience, claiming that her colleague had heard Sawant issue the threat as he passed her while walking out of Lok Sabha, in retaliation. Sawant has refuted her allegations.

Independent MP alleges threat by Sena MP

"After I spoke about this, all Shiv Sena MPs walked out and Arvind Sawant paused near me and told me 'It is your time to go to jail'. I was shocked and my colleague behind me confirmed that he said such a thing. I will not stop working for the people. I will not be silent. After Sharad Pawar's statement, it is clear that it was CM Thackeray who is involved with Vaze and not NCP," said Navneet Rana to Arnab. 

Rana- an NCP-backed Amravati MP has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recounting her threat and demanding police action on Sawant. Refuting her allegations, Sawant who had resigned from the Modi cabinet after the BJP-Sena split, said that Rana's words and body-language against CM Uddhav Thackeray were insulting. Asserting he was 'Shiv Sainik', he said that he could never threaten a woman,

"Why will I threaten her? I know Navneet Rana well, she calls me brother whenever we meet. If there were people present near her at that time, then, they can tell if I threatened her. I don't like the way she talks and whenever she talks about Uddhav Thackeray, her body language is very insulting. She always talks like this, nothing new. I am a Shiv Sainik, why will I threaten her as I left?," asked Sawant.

Moreover, BJP MP Rama Devi, said, "Navneet Rana has spoken to me on this. Arvind Sawant being an MP should not have said such a thing. I will ask the Speaker to take this seriously." Rama Devi, herself had been victim to harassment by SP MP Azam Khan, who had to publically apologise for his behaviour.

Vaze raised in Parliament

Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha witnessed an uproar after several BJP MPs apart from Rana raised the issue of extortion charges leveled against Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh by Mumbai's former police commissioner Param Bir Singh, calling for a CBI inquiry into the allegations. BJP MP Rakesh Singh slammed Uddhav Thackeray for holding a press conference in support of Inspector Sachin Waze, who is arrested in the Mansukh Hiren death case. The CM said he (Sachin Vaze) is the best police personnel in the country. Then how did this happen?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Rana asked, "On what basis was a man who suspended for 16 yrs & jailed, reinstated? When there was BJP govt, Uddhav Thackeray himself had called up Devendra Fadnavis for reinstating Sachin Waze, Fadnavis had refused. When Thackeray govt came, they reinstated him back". 

Maharashtra DG (Home Guards) Param Bir Singh has sent an 8-page letter to CM Thackeray, HM Anil Deshmukh and Gov Koshyari alleging that Deshmukh had demanded Vaze to collect Rs 100 crores from 1750 pubs in Mumbai per month. Sena has defended both Param Bir Singh and Sachin Vaze, claiming that they were not guilty yet, as the probe into the Antilia bomb scare continues. Its ally NCP has held Param Bir Singh responsible for Vaze's action rather than the government. Param Bir Singh has been transferred to Maharashtra (Home Guards) after ex-Mumbai API Sachin Vaze's arrest in the Antilia bomb scare case and his involvement in the Mansukh Hiren's alleged murder - both cases are now being probed by NIA.