In a big relief, a Raigad Magistrate late on Tuesday granted bail to arrested Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane in a case pertaining to his 'slap slur' against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The development came around 8 hours after Rane's dramatic arrest by a police posse from his camp in Sangameshwar, Ratnagiri, from where he was whisked off to a Raigad court late in the evening.
The Central minister was nabbed - a first ever for the state - after multiple cases were filed against him in various districts for his 'slap slur' targeting Thackeray.
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Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar and other leaders welcomed the verdict and said it was on expected lines as Rane's arrest was illegal and it was a politically motivated case.
BJP ex-minister Sudhir Mungantiwar termed it as a victory of democracy and a defeat of the 'Talibani mentality' of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
"The state government will have to pay a price for insulting the constitutional tenets of B.R. Ambedkar," Mungantiwar said.
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Meanwhile, Rane is expected to walk out free a short while later after completing the legal formalities, much to the relief of his wife Neelam, sons Nilesh and Nitesh, besides a large number of supporters.
