Govt to close cases against BJP functionaries, celebs lodged under MVA

Mumbai: The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government is expected to order the withdrawal of multiple pending civil and criminal cases registered against prominent personalities from the political, news media and Bollywood sectors registered by the erstwhile MVA government. “There were several politically motivated cases were filed during the last 2.5 years to harass many prominent personalities solely owing to their political leanings or because they chose to pull up the MVA government for obvious failings. Such biased civil and criminal cases will be withdrawn by the new government,” a person close to the development confirmed.

The police complaints initiated against BJP newly inducted Member of the Legislative Council in Maharashtra Uma Khapre, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, television news anchor and Editor-in-Chief of Republic news channel Arnab Goswami, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane, Independent Member of Parliament Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana, BJP leader Kirit Sommaiya and some other cases are likely to be dropped by the new political dispensation in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Dipali Sayed had filed a case against BJP MLC (elected in July 2022) Khapre at the Oshiwara police station for allegedly having threatened her with physical violence for making disparaging comments against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Similarly, Bollywood actor Ranaut and Republic TV editor Goswami had made disparaging statements against then-CM Uddhav Thackeray, after which they faced BMC and police action, respectively. The office and residence of Ranaut was demolished in Mumbai, while Goswami was arrested by now-disgraced police officer Sachin Vaze. Even Union Minister Rane was booked under a criminal offence registered at Nasik for stating that he would have slapped the former CM for forgetting that it was the diamond jubilee year of Indian independence. The Rana couple were similarly targeted and suffered 12 days of incarceration after threatening to recite the Hanuman Chalisa prayer outside the Thackeray residence in Bandra in Mumbai.