Congress Calls For Disqualification Of Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane Over 'Mini Pakistan' Remark On Kerala

Congress demanded disqualification of Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan" and accusing Wayanad voters of being "terrorists".

Congress has demanded disqualification of Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane for his 'mini Pakistan' remark on Kerala.

Source : PTI

The Congress on Monday demanded the disqualification of Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane over his remark controversial remark on Kerala calling the South Indian state a "mini Pakistan." 

Referring to the victories of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Rane went on to say that "all terrorists vote for Gandhis." 

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal strongly condemned the remarks and demanded a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the objectionable remark by Rane. 

He demanded the Maharashtra minister's disqualification for violating his oath of office with his "divisive remarks." The Alappuzha MP further said that the defamatory comments branding the people of Wayanad as "extremists" would be challenged both legally and politically.

Addressing a rally in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, "Kerala is a mini Pakistan. Terrorists (previously) voted for Rahul Gandhi and now for his sister Priyanka Gandhi."

His remark drew flak from opposition parties after which the BJP minister maintained that Kerala is very much part of India, and he is merely raising the issue of religious conversion of Hindus and "love jihad" in the southern state. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Wayanad seat in 2019. He also won the seat along with Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh in this year's elections. 

He retained the Rae Bareli seat after which Priyanka Gandhi made her electoral debut from Wayanad and won the seat in the byelections held last month. 

Kerala's Leader of Opposition, VD Satheesan, demanded Rane's resignation. He also slammed senior CPI(M) leader A Vijayaraghavan for his statement that Rahul won the Wayanad seat twice with the support of communal forces and that extremist elements were present at Priyanka Gandhi's campaign rallies. 

The Congress MLA said that the communal remarks initially made by the CPI(M) in Kerala to please the Sangh Parivar leadership, are now being taken by BJP on the national level. 

"The statement made by CPI(M) leader A Vijayaraghavan regarding Priyanka Gandhi’s victory in Wayanad was aimed at providing the BJP with ammunition to attack the Congress. Instead of correcting Vijayaraghavan, the CPI(M) state secretary and others encouraged it, and the people of Kerala can now clearly see the reason behind this," he said.