Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani questioned the silence of those "who talk about freedom of speech" after the arrest of Union Minister Narayan Rane over his 'slap Uddhav' remark. Smriti Irani said that the Maharashtra government has taken these steps in desperation on seeing public support for the Jan Ashirwad Yatra during which Rane made the "slap Uddhav" remark.