'Will do it again if work isn't done': Maharashtra MLA Nitesh Rane after throwing mud on civic engineer over 'poor' situation of Mumbai-Goa highway

Maharashtra MLA Nitesh Rane and his supporters on Thursday threw mud on civic engineer Pradkash Shedekar on a bridge near the Mumbai-Goa highway in the Kankavali area of the state. Rane, who is the son of former chief minister Narayan Rane, was reportedly angry about the “deteriorating” situation of the major highway.

The MLA also called the official names and tied him to the bridge over the river, ANI reported. Reportedly, Rane poured two buckets of mud on Shedekar “to teach him a lesson” for the pothole-ridden condition of the 600 kilometre-long road.

Even though Nitesh was criticised heavily for his act later, the MLA didn’t show any sign of repentance and went to say that he would not be hesitant to use a “stick” again whenever the question of welfare of the people arises. “If work is not done, I will use stick again. I did this for the welfare of the people.”

The road is often riddled with potholes which has resulted in accidents on the busy highway in the past. Nitesh has given the engineer “an ultimatum” of 15 days to take action, Zee News reported.  In a video of the incident which has gone viral on the internet, Rane can be seen standing with workers of the Swabhimaan Sangathna and urging them to throw mud on Shedekar.

#WATCH: Congress MLA Nitesh Narayan Rane and his supporters throw mud on engineer Prakash Shedekar at a bridge near Mumbai-Goa highway in Kankavali, when they were inspecting the potholes-ridden highway. They later tied him to the bridge over the river. pic.twitter.com/B1XJZ6Yu6z

— ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2019

“Throw it on him. Throw it on his head. Now you will understand… What should people do? Should they die in front of you? What will happen if the wall collapses,” the video was quoted by Mumbai Mirror .  Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane condemned the action of his son Nitesh, saying that though the protest over the highway was “correct”, but the violence was not.

Narayan Rane,RS MP on his son and MLA Nitesh Rane and his supporters attacking Govt officer: This behaviour is wrong. The protest over the highway issue is correct but this violence by his supporters is not correct. I don't support this. pic.twitter.com/mFSzzHEzbn

— ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2019

Reactions pour in on social media

Twitterati had mixed reactions to the incident, with some also calling for Rane’s expulsion from the Congress.

However, Congress leader Sachin Sawant reacted to media reports referring to Rane as a member of the party and said that it was “surprising” because “everyone knows that he has no connection whatsoever with Congress after Narayan Rane_ji_ left the party. They have already formed a different party.”

Why is Nitesh Rane being referred to as Congress MLA? His own bio says he is founder of Swabhiman Sangathna. pic.twitter.com/OFuz26Rz2U

— Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) July 4, 2019

Shame for us that goondas like Nitesh Rane our thriving as leaders in Maharashtra. Congress BJP are both responsible for this.

— Preeti Sharma Menon (@PreetiSMenon) July 4, 2019

Be it Nitesh Rane or Akash Vijayavargiya, taking law in hands in unacceptable and must be booked according to the rule of law.

— RMA (@rithikmanoj) July 4, 2019

Now BJP has three options:

1. Arrest Nitesh Rane
2. Ignore Nitesh Rane
3. Invite Nitesh Rane to join BJP

What do you think they will do? https://t.co/cs6kWOsm9G

— Aisi Taisi Democracy (@AisiTaisiDemo) July 4, 2019

Rane’s action against the engineer comes a day after at least 13 people were reported dead due to the breaching of the Tiware dam in Ratnagiri as a consequence to the heavy downpour in the state.

This is the second incident of a politician misbehaving with a government official in the last few weeks. Earlier, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya’s son Akash thrashed a municipal corporation officer with a cricket bat in Indore. The video of the incident, which also went viral, showed Akash threatening the staff of the municipal corporation to leave the area within ten minutes or face consequences.

The corporation’s staff had come to break a dilapidated house at Ganji Compound in view of the monsoon season. However, residents of the area started protesting and called the legislator.

According to local media reports, Akash said that he was angry as the corporation officer had grabbed a woman and abused her. BJP leader Hitesh Bajpai told India Today that Akash thrashed the officer because he had asked for a bribe.

“You can put Akash behind the bars for using a cricket bat to beat up an officer, but what about the officer who was asking for a bribe?” Bajpai said.

Akash, however, justified his actions by claiming that this will be his ’line of action’ against ‘corrupt’ officers in order to end corruption and ‘goondaism’.

With inputs from agencies