Pune sees day-long protests for and against Narayan Rane, starring a kitten, a chicken and a donkey

The local Shiv Sena unit, led by its chief Sanjay More, protested against Rane’s comments by raising slogans and carrying placards accusing Rane of being a Kombdi chor (chicken thief), while Sena members even carried a chicken during the protest in Deccan area. The protests were similar to the ones in Mumbai, where Sena workers put up posters calling Rane a Kombdi chor.

They also entered the city BJP office premises and released the chicken there. A city mall, in which the Rane family reportedly has a stake, was also pelted with stones, allegedly by Sena workers.

The BJP, meanwhile, held an agitation outside the Sena office in Deccan and fed milk to a kitten, apparently to signify that the Sena has turned into a ‘kitten’ from a `tiger’. They also raised slogans against Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray.

The Sena’s allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, NCP and Congress, also joined the protests against Rane on Tuesday evening. The NCP held a protest at Mandai by putting a mask, with the BJP leader’s face on it, on a donkey.

“The BJP should realise that its image is getting tainted by a leader like Narayan Rane. It should not take help from such people only for the sake of coming to power,” said NCP’s city unit chief Prashant Jagtap, who led the protests.

The Congress, led by city unit chief Ramesh Bagawe, also participated in the agitation against Rane.

Sena workers also burst crackers outside the BJP office to “celebrate” the arrest of Rane. The area soon became tense as BJP workers were at the same spot, raising slogans in favour of Rane. Police had to intervene and disperse the protesters to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “If anybody tries to run down the Shiv Sena and its Chief Minister, then the Sainiks will give a befitting reply. We will not unnecessarily target anyone unless he tries to insult our party and its top leader. The anger of Sainiks reflects their love and respect for the party chief.”

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