Raj Thackeray Vishwas Nangare Patil Rss Speech Row

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday slammed newly appointed Nagpur Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil over his speech praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying that his loyalty should lie solely with the police force.

“If you have an affinity for the Sangh, keep it to yourself; or if you wish to speak publicly, resign from service and join the Sangh or the BJP,” the MNS chief said in a social media post.

The development comes close on the heels of the Congress seeking a probe into the IPS officer’s controversial speech. Patil courted controversy after an undated video clip showing him addressing a Sakal Hindu Samaj event, a right-wing outfit facing multiple FIRs across Maharashtra for alleged hate speech, went viral on Thursday. The speech was apparently made after he was appointed Nagpur police commissioner.

‘Patil feels compelled to demonstrate loyalty’

”It seems IPS officer Shri Vishwas Nangare Patil is suddenly feeling a desire to display dual loyalties. Being a police officer, his loyalty should lie solely and exclusively with the duties of the police force. However, here, Nangare Patil feels compelled to demonstrate his loyalty to the RSS,” the MNS chief said.

Thackeray said that Hindu conventions are being held across the state, and even though these conventions are portrayed as non-political, they are, in fact, political. “If one were to research or even contemplate who is organising these events and what their true motives are, the hands behind them would become apparent,” the MNS chief said.

The issue, he said, is whether a person in a government job, especially a police officer, should attend such events. “At such places, Nangare Patil is going and heaping praise on the RSS. Have you lost sight of the fact that you are a police officer and that impartiality is expected of an officer? In any case, a “rehabilitation guarantee scheme” for favoured officers has been running for many years now; you, too, will be rehabilitated,” he remarked.

Taking a dig at the police officer, he further said, “We were all under the impression that the khaki colour of Nangare Patil’s uniform belonged to the police force; we have only now realised that the colour belongs to the Sangh’s former khaki”.

He reminded CM Devendra Fadnavis that he should not criticise when an officer attends a programme by some other organisation in future.

“When any ruling power forgets the realisation of what wrong precedents they are setting by supporting (or even remaining silent, which is also a form of support) the actions of an officer, they also forget what they are leaving behind for future generations,” he said.

Thackeray also recalled a 2012 protest march by the MNS, when a constable had come up and congratulated him for standing behind the police. ”At that time, the then-government sent him on forced leave for abandoning impartiality. Will the current government take the same stance regarding Nangare Patil?”

“Nangare Patil, you are a capable officer—at the very least, do not mortgage your conscience to political parties and organizations,” he advised.

Meanwhile, the Congress in Maharashtra has sought a probe into Patil’s speech. The party raised questions about the officer’s neutrality and compliance with service rules.