With the controversy about Union minister Narayan Rane’s slap remark against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, we are back to just two days ago, when Mumbai’s iconic sporting ground Shivaji Park was in the news. The park was the unwitting backdrop as the beginning of the current problem was played out. Rane, now with the BJP, of course, invoked the late Balasaheb Thackeray in one of his ‘we will win the BMC elections’ speeches. He paid tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray at Shivaji Park. 

The Shiv Sena, while slamming Rane, also stated that they have ‘purified’ the place where Rane paid tribute. This in turn irked BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis who claimed it was unnecessary and did not reflect a good mindset. There was a fair bit of tension over the episode and reports claimed that security had been enhanced at the spot.