Mumbai:
Hours after the Mumbai High Court reprimanded the Mumbai Municipal Corporation for acting “for unlawful motives” and “maliciously” in attempting to demolish Kangana Ranaut’s office, Mayor Kishori Pednekar launched a crude attack, referring to the actor as “do ke log (useless people) “.
Ms Pednekar’s comment came after the court also criticized Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for an expletive directed at Ms Ranaut earlier this year as the two fought a bitter battle over the Sushant Rajput research and comments that compared Mumbai to Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The court also warned Ms Ranaut, who had allegedly provoked the Maharashtra government with inflammatory comments on social media, to “show restraint in expressing opinions about the government.”
“Everyone is surprised that an actor comes to Mumbai, from Himachal Pradesh, and calls him PoK. Then there are complaints against him. Do ke log (worthless people) want to turn the court into a political (circus). This is wrong, “Pednekar told the ANI news agency on Friday.
Ms Pednekar also insisted that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, or BMC, had acted “in accordance with municipal regulations” but “will not disrespect the court.”
“We are not going to disrespect the court order. We will study the order and see what orders the Superior Court has passed on the use of the same section of the law in the past,” he said.
#CLOCK: Everyone is surprised that an actress who lives in Himachal, comes here and calls our PoK in Mumbai … such ‘do takke ke log’ wants to make the courts the scene of political rivalry, it is wrong: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar in Bombay HC, setting aside BMC Notices to Kangana Ranaut https://t.co/DZi7GVeFI2pic.twitter.com/UPlLvygIxI
– ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2020
On Friday morning, the High Court said that BMC’s demolition of part of Ms. Ranaut’s office, located in a bungalow in Mumbai ‘s Pali Hills, was “nothing more than legal malice.” By canceling the civic body’s notice, the court also said that Ms. Ranaut would be compensated for the damages caused.
A vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the actor had alleged that the civic body’s action against her was the result of comments against Maharashtra’s ruler Shiv Sena about his handling of the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation; this included the comment comparing Mumbai to PoK.
Sanjay Raut was later caught on camera throwing an abusive term at Ms. Ranaut.
He later told NDTV “I may have made a mistake.” Other Seine leaders also went on the offensive, threatening cases of sedition and demands that he not be allowed to return to Mumbai.
The fight took a political turn when the BJP, an ally of the Seine before the two squabbled after winning last year’s Assembly elections, gave him Y-plus security before his return to Mumbai.
The Sena promptly accused the BJP of playing politics, and the BJP responded with a mockery of the Uddhav Thackeray government’s handling of the Covid pandemic.
With contributions from ANI
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