NCP to protest against Nilesh Rane's 'Aurangzeb' tweet for Sharad Pawar

The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday said it would protest with a "jail bharo andolan" against a tweet by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Lok Sabha member Nilesh Rane terming Sharad Pawar as Aurangzeb. NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Rane must delete the tweet in 24 hours, while BJP national president JP Nadda and state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule should clarify if they agree with Rane.

Pawar was invited to inaugurate Narayan Rane's hospital in Sindhudurg while the latter's son calls the NCP chief Aurangzeb, Tapase pointed out. Nilesh Rane has tried to polarise people, Tapase said, while another party spokesperson Clyde Crasto sought action from Twitter over the "malicious" tweet. Tension gripped Kolhapur city, 285 kilometres from Mumbai, on Tuesday after some persons allegedly kept an image of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan and an offensive audio message as their social media status, resulting in a protest by some Hindu outfits at Shivaji Chowk the next day.Police had to resort to lathicharge (baton charge) to quell the stone-pelting and violence that the protest descended into, following which 36 people were held in connection with the incidents in the western Maharashtra city.