By PTI
MUMBAI: BJP workers staged protests against Patole, the state Congress chief, across Maharashtra and demanded his arrest.
The Congress leader, who has had a brief stint with the BJP as an MP in the past, has kicked up controversy with his purported remark that he could `beat up, badmouth Modi’.
He has, however, denied that he was speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to reporters here, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said, “If Narayan Rane can be arrested for his alleged comment, so can be Nana Patole. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government (of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) is treating almost similar comments differently.”
BJP leader Rane had been arrested in August 2021 for his alleged comment that he would have slapped Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for `not knowing’ the year of India’s independence.
Rane was released on bail hours later.
On Monday, a video of Patole where he purportedly said I can hit Modi, can abuse him; so he did not come to campaign against me,” went viral, prompting BJP leaders to lash out at him.
Patole later claimed that he was talking about a local village goon while campaigning in Bhandara district and not about the prime minister.
“I think state police are under political pressure, so they are not taking any action against Patole. Not a single complaint was accepted by police. We will meet the governor about this issue,” Chandrakant Patil told reporters in Mumbai.
If needed, the BJP will also approach the court seeking action against Patole, he added.
BJP MLA and former minister Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar said Patole should provide a photograph and details of the `goon’ he claimed he was referring to.
BJP workers staged protests against Patole in many places in the state including Aurangabad, Nashik, Pune and Nanded.
In Jalna, district BJP youth wing chief Sujit Jogas announced a `reward’ of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who “cuts off Patole’s tongue.”
Speaking in Nagpur, Patole said the BJP was protesting against his remarks only to divert attention from real issues.
He also said the “goon” he was referring to had been detained by Bhandara police.
The Congress knows how to maintain the dignity of the prime minister’s post, he added.
Reacting to angry comments by BJP workers and leaders against Patole, state Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said it reflected the “Talibani mentality” of BJP leaders.
