Uddhav asked Sainiks to assault Sonu Nigam, alleges Rane

Mumbai,Jan 19 (UNI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane today alleged that Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray had asked Shiv Sainiks to assault playback singer Sonu Nigam and former Mumbai Municipal Commissioner S S Tinaikar.

Asked to elaborate on the nature of his allegation and whether he had evidence to prove it, Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader, told a press conference that he would make the disclosures at an ''appropriate time'' and also produce the people to whom the orders were given. He further alleged that he was witness to the alleged order of Mr Thackeray to his Sainiks.

Mr Rane further alleged that the homes of the then Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chhagan Bhujbal and former Minister of State for Home Suresh Navle were attacked by shiv sainiks at the behest of Mr Uddhav Thackeray.There were many hotel owners who were targetted by the Sena,where the party was not allowed to have a trade union, he charged.

Coming down heavily on the barbs heaped on him by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in his interview to party mouthpiece 'Saamna' today, Mr Rane said the Shiv Sena was targetting him because he was the main hurdle in its path. ''Relentlessly targetting me since expelling me from the party more than a year ago has not helped the Sena. The party has lost seven MLAs since then. There is no hope of victory in future as well,''he alleged.

Mr Rane also charged that Marathi speaking youth had taken to crime in Mumbai and different parts of Maharashtra because of the Shiv Sena.

Mr Rane, while referring to his former mentor's interview in ''Saamna'' said Mr Thackeray had nothing to say on the party's stand on different issues facing Mumbai or its performance in the last ten years at the helm of affairs in the largest civic body in Asia.

''Shiv Sena has no solutions to offer on the downslide of Mumbai over the last several years,''he said and added that the Sena Chief does not have the ''courage to say publicly that he expelled me from the party because I criticised his son Uddhav.'' ''Mr Thackeray says if he had not made me the Chief Minister, I would have been killed in an encounter. Was Mr Manohar Joshi made the Chief Minister before me because of the same reason,'' he asked.

Mr Rane further said that apart from the Chief Minister's post,he was even the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.' 'That time, Saamna was never tired of praising me,''he added.

He said,''Raj Thackeray realised that my allegations against Uddhav were true so he too walked out of the party.'' Speaking about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, Mr Rane said Raj was more politically active and exactly the opposite of his cousin Uddhav.

He expressed confidence that Congress will win about 120 seats in Mumbai civic polls and the third front will damage the chances of NCP and not the Congress.

He said he was filing a defamation suit ''against the paper which is indulging in yellow journalism. The Charisma of Mr Bal Thackeray is over. He tried to blackmail his followers at Malvan during the by-election public meeting that it was the last meeting he was addressing. But,it did not work.The Shiv Sena candidate lost his deposit,''he charged and said that he will not react to any abuse hurled at him by the Sena chief.

UNI