Narayan Rane Made Union Minister Only To Target Us: Shiv Sena

Narayan Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader who left the party over 16 years ago, took oath as a minister in the Narendra Modi government yesterday.

Narayan Rane was inducted in the Union cabinet only to attack the Shiv Sena, the party claimed on Thursday. It also alleged that the purpose of creating a new Ministry of Cooperation was to "harass" the cooperative sector which has a strong presence in Maharashtra. Mr Rane, a former Sena leader who left the party over 16 years ago, took oath as minister in the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday. Sena's chief spokesperson Arvind Sawant said here that after taking charge of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry, Mr Rane's first comments were against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. "He said nothing about his portfolio and what he proposed to do for the MSME sector," said Mr Sawant, a former Union minister.