How Maharashtra police, government and the BJP have turned a blind eye to MLA Nitesh Rane's anti-Muslim rallies.
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"If you (Muslims) care about your community, you will not utter a word against Ramgiri Maharaj," said Nitesh Rane, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MLA from Kankavali at an event in Maharashtra's Shrirampur on Sunday, 1 September.
Son of former chief minister and former minister in PM Narendra Modi's cabinet Narayan Rane, Nitesh in the same statement also threatened to enter mosques and thrash Muslims if need be, in his signature statement "Chun chun ke maarenge" which he has often used in the past.
Ironically, Nitesh Rane's lament came 'in defence of' Ramgiri Maharaj, who himself was booked two weeks ago for controversial statements on Prophet Mohammed. Since that controversy erupted on 18 August, Rane has been vocally supporting Ramgiri Maharaj's statements as 'facts' on TV debates and press briefings.
However, even as headlines laced with shock value are being flashed by the media and seeking explanation for Rane's statements, it hardly comes as a shock to anybody wh
o has followed his politics and his speeches over the years.
For his latest hateful tirade, two FIRs have been registered at Shrirampur and Tofkhana police stations. That begs the question: Will the FIRs, unlike all the previous FIRs against him, lead to any punitive action?
Here's a closer look into Nitesh Rane's politics and how he enjoys immunity for his hate speeches:
Not the First Hate Speech, Not the First FIR
Along with T Raja Singh, the Telangana MLA who himself has been been booked in multiple cases across the counttry of hate speechs and promoting religious animosity, Nitesh Rane has been a frequent at Hindutva rallies organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj across the state.
In the events over the past two years where most speeches are filled with expletives against Muslims, labels such as 'jihadis', 'Bangladeshis', and 'Rohingyas', calls for economic boycott of the community, and unsubstantiated claims of 'love jihad' and 'land Jihad'.
In several speeches and statements, Rane, in the presence of the police has publicly said that anybody who wants to take law in their own hands in order to 'retaliate against any atrocities by Muslims must do so', and that he will save them, from the police. At one instance, the threats were also issued by him from the police commissioner's office in Thane's Mira Road.
The Quint analysed over 30 speeches, media statements, and scores of social media posts of Nitesh Rane from the past one year that fall under the purview of hate speech, hurting religious sentiments, and promoting animosity between two communities.
Here are some highlights and excerpts:
7 July 2023: At a Sakal Hindu Samaj rally in Malegaon, he made claims of Muslims wanting to topple Constitution and bring Sharia law in the country. He also called a Muslim locality in the area 'mini Pakistan'.
17 July, 2023: At a speech in Solapur against those praising Aurangzeb, he said: "If anyone dares to praise Augranzeb, make sure to keep a place booked for yourself in the nearest kabristan."
4 September 2023: In a speech on alleged illegal encroachment by Muslims near Pune's Punyeshwar temple, he said: "My colleague (BJP MLA Mahesh Landge) spoke about demolishing, but I usually prefer chopping. Once we give a date for evacuation, you must not care about anything. Just watch the clip of what Kar Sewaks did. Even I feel sometimes that I should have got the opportunity of bringing down at least one brick there. But looks like the Pune authorities are going to give me that opportunity via Punyeshwar temple."
11 October, 2023: In a byte to news agency ANI ahead of Navratri festival, he alleged a 'large scale conspiracy' of love jihad and forced religious conversions at Dandiya events in Maharashtra. He demanded that Aadhaar cards of all participants must be checked and only Hindus should be allowed at these events. None of these claims could be verified.
8 January 2024: At a rally at Solapur, he said that a country with 90% Hindus is automatically a 'Hindu rashtra'. He also constantly used the word 'jihadis' while speaking about Muslims and that anybody who dares to have an 'evil eye' on Hindus will not be be able to 'see again'.
24 January: After communal unrest during a rally in Thane's Mira Road by residents to celebrate Ram temple inauguration on 22 January, Rane in an address to the media along with local MLA Geeta Jain said that if the police cannot create fear among the 'jihadis', "the Hindu community is very much capable of doing so." The press briefing took place at the police commissioner's office.
27 January, 2024: At an event in Pandharpur in Solapur district, he said: "Henceforth, do whatever you and to do and then give me a call that you have done this and you need to be saved. We will make sure that you reach home safely. It will be the responsibility of our people to get you home safely. I am giving this assurance in front of the police, don't worry."
Referring to Devendra Fadnavis, he further said that the police won't be able to do anything about anyone taking the law in their own hands since his "boss is sitting at Sagar Bungalow."
10 February 2024: In an address in Mumbai's Govandi, he said that as long as Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, and Narendra Modi are present in the government, no 'jihadis' will be able to take over the country. On the same day, he participated in a rally where chants of "Tu Durga Ban, tu Kaali Ban, Kabhi na Burqe Wali Ban".
19 February 2024: In Akola's Balapur, he repeated his tirade against the community and peddled claims of Muslims wanting to take over and abolish Hindus.
27 February 2024: In a protest against illegal encroachments in Mumbai's Dongri, Nitesh Rane openly threatened the police that encroachments must be stopped or he will "come with his men unannounced and enter homes of Bangladeshis to send them to Bangladesh."
3 March 2024: At a Sakal Hindu Samaj event in Mumbai's Malad, he spoke about unrest in Mira Road and threatened to enter mosques and repeated his signature line "chun chun ke maarenge." A similar tirade was repeated in Ghatkopar on 10 March, and in Chembur on 3 August.
5 August 2024: On alleged targeting of Hindu minorities and temples in Bangladesh after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina's government, he tweeted: "If Hindus are being killed in Bangladesh, why should we allow Bangladeshis to breathe here? Chun chun ke maarenge." He later deleted the tweet.
There are several other statements from his speeches that have not been mentioned here for their communally sensitive nature.
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