Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s suggestion to opposition outfits NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) shows he is unsure of retaining power after the Lok Sabha polls. Talking to the media in Nagpur, Patole averred that his party has consistently maintained that the BJP will not return to power at the Centre and Modi’s remarks vindicate its assertion.
His reaction came hours after Modi, addressing a campaign rally in Nandurbar, advised Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) to join hands with ruling outfits headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Ajit Pawar after the Lok Sabha poll results instead of “dying by merging” with the Congress.
Asked about the PM’s suggestion, Patole said, “First you break their homes and then blackmail them. Now, when they are losing (polls), Modi ji is offering them share in power. It means Modi ji you now accept you cannot come to power on your own and you need their support. Hence, he is requesting Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray to join him. This proves our claim Modi will not come back to power.”
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP), along with the Congress, are part of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are allies of the BJP and constituents of the ruling ‘Mahayuti‘ alliance.
To a query on a Pune court verdict in the 2013 murder case of well-known rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, in which two accused were convicted, while three others were let-off, Patole said he welcomes the ruling “but the (alleged) mastermind in this case Virendrasinh Tawde and his entire team have been acquitted”. This was not an ordinary criminal case and the mastermind should be brought to justice, emphasised the Congress leader.
To a query on Modi’s attack on former CM Thackeray during a poll rally, Patole said his remarks were laughable and in poor taste.
Asked about the PM’s statement that if the Congress comes back to power, it will put a “Babri lock” on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Patole asserted that a government led by his party will make the shrine better than what it is now. “The Congress supports the stand taken by four Shankaracharyas (pontiffs of major Hindu shrines) on the Ram temple consecration ceremony (which they did not attend). They will be invited for a grand puja at the temple (if Congress comes to power),” he added.
