Mumbai, June 27 (IANS) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday launched a scathing attack on senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and newly appointed Nagpur Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, accusing him of compromising civil service neutrality by publicly praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

In a strongly worded social media post, Thackeray questioned the high-ranking officer’s “dual loyalty” and bluntly suggested that if he harbours such deep affection for the right-wing organisation, he should resign from service and formally enter politics.

The controversy erupted after a video circulated showing the 1997-batch officer addressing a regional Hindu Sammelan. In his speech, Nangre Patil openly lauded the RSS and its founder, Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, describing him as a farsighted nationalist.

While the organisers have framed these statewide gatherings as strictly cultural and apolitical, Raj Thackeray dismissed the claim, asserting that a cursory look at the organisers and their motives reveals deep-rooted political backing.

“A police officer’s loyalty must lie solely and exclusively with the duties of the police force,” Raj Thackeray stated. “We all fondly believed that the Khaki colour of Nangre Patil’s uniform represented the police department. It is only now we realise his Khaki mirrors the old uniform of the Sangh.”

“If you feel affection for the Sangh, keep it in your heart. If you want to speak about it publicly, resign from service and join the RSS or the BJP. After all, a rehabilitation guarantee scheme for disgruntled or favoured officers has been running for years—your rehabilitation will happen too,” he remarked.

Shifting his focus to the state’s top leadership, the MNS chief questioned whether the Chief Minister and the Home Minister condone such overt political alignment from serving bureaucrats. Warning of a dangerous slippery slope, Thackeray questioned the long-term precedent being set by the administration’s silence.

To emphasise his point, Raj Thackeray drew a direct historical comparison to a 2012 incident involving his own party. He quoted the 2012 precedent, saying that during an MNS protest march against the Raza Academy in Mumbai, a police constable had stepped forward to stand in solidarity with the police force and the protest’s stance. The government at the time promptly placed the constable on compulsory leave for abandoning professional impartiality.

Raj Thackeray demanded to know whether the current government would show the same administrative resolve in Nangre Patil’s case, or if rules are being selectively applied based on ideological alignment.

The MNS chief concluded his statement by connecting the officer’s actions to the broader political climate in Maharashtra, where lawmakers and MPs face constant political realignments. He warned that if even senior police leadership fails to remain fiercely impartial, citizens will lose all faith in administrative institutions.

Acknowledging Nangre Patil’s established track record as an efficient and capable officer, Raj Thackeray made a direct appeal: “If you run after the government or the organisations backing them, you are giving them exactly what they want. Do not pawn your sense of institutional propriety before political parties and organisations.”

Raj Thackeray’s statement comes days after the Maharashtra Congress launched a sharp offensive against Nangre Patil, expressing concerns regarding administrative impartiality and constitutional propriety.

The Congress party claimed that this is not an isolated incident involving a single officer, but a structural degradation of civil service integrity. It has placed the onus squarely on CM Devendra Fadnavis to clarify whether the state government tolerates active police leadership doubling as ideological ideologues, warning that such silent compliance establishes a highly destructive precedent for the future of administrative governance in Maharashtra.

–IANS

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