Raj Thackeray Demands IPS Officer Vishwas Nangre Patil Resign After RSS Praise
On Saturday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack in Mumbai against senior IPS officer and newly appointed Nagpur Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, criticizing him for compromising civil service neutrality by publicly praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Thackeray questioned the officer's professional impartiality and suggested he resign from service to formally enter politics.
The controversy began after a video circulated showing the 1997-batch officer addressing a regional Hindu Sammelan. In his speech, Nangre Patil praised the RSS and its founder, Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, describing him as a farsighted nationalist.
While organizers claimed the statewide gatherings were strictly cultural and apolitical, Thackeray dismissed these assertions, claiming the events have deep-rooted political backing.
In a social media post, Thackeray stated that a police officer's loyalty must lie exclusively with the duties of the police force. He criticized Nangre Patil, stating that his khaki uniform mirrored the old uniform of the Sangh. He added that if the officer wanted to speak about the organization publicly, he should resign and join the RSS or the BJP, noting that a rehabilitation guarantee scheme has been running for years for favored officers.
Thackeray also questioned Maharashtra's Chief Minister and Home Minister over their silence, asking if they condone such political alignment from serving bureaucrats. He warned that if senior police leadership fails to remain impartial, citizens will lose faith in administrative institutions.
To support his argument, the MNS chief cited a 2012 precedent in Mumbai. During an MNS protest march against the Raza Academy, a police constable who stood in solidarity with the police force's stance was promptly placed on compulsory leave by the government to maintain professional impartiality. Thackeray questioned if the current government would show the same administrative resolve in Nangre Patil's case.
The Maharashtra Congress also launched an offensive against Nangre Patil, expressing concerns over constitutional propriety and calling on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to clarify the state's stance on police officers acting as ideological ideologues.
