Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.
Credit: X/@Nana_Patole
Mumbai: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement made in United States on the reservation seems to be snowballing into a poll issue in Maharashtra.
The issue gained momentum again when state Congress President Nana Patole endorsed the statement of Gandhi.
“What did Rahul Gandhi say? Rahul Gandhi said we will think about reservation when everybody will become equal,” Patole was heard saying in viral clips on social media platforms.
BJP leaders immediately targeted Patole, who was the first big leader to speak out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and resign as a BJP MP more than five years ago to join the Congress.
The BJP-Maharashtra, in a social media post, said: “Congress had insulted Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and is still doing it today. Congress is and will remain firm on the position that it will end reservation. But you should remember one thing... The defeat of the Congress will be the victory of the Constitution."
Patole, however, on Friday evening, issued a statement saying: “Fearing defeat in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the BJP is spreading fake narratives through social media. BJP itself opposes reservation and the Constitution, and their attempts to distort and circulate fake narratives using a statement by Rahul Gandhi will not succeed in Maharashtra."
“The BJP has disregarded democracy and the Constitution,” he added.