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| Photo Credit: Pritimaya Tripathy@Delhi
Amid the raging feud within the Maharashtra Congress, the party’s State unit (MPCC) chief Nana Patole on Wednesday hit out at his ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, sharply remarking that the Congress had not appointed Mr. Raut as its spokesperson to comment on the party’s internal matters.
Mr. Patole’s sabre-rattling with senior Congressman and former State Minister Balasaheb Thorat caused the latter to resign from his post as Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, especially after the recent fiasco over the Nashik Legislative Council (MLC) poll in which Mr. Thorat’s nephew Satyajeet Tambe won a thumping majority but was ‘forced’ to compete as an Independent instead as the Congress’ candidate.
The Tambe family has alleged a conspiracy on part of Mr. Patole and some other Congress leaders to defame them as well as Mr. Thorat. Sena (UBT) leader Raut, too, commiserated with Mr. Tambe and said he had received a raw deal and had been treated unfairly.
“Mr. Raut is not the Congress’ spokesperson and I am not aware if Mr. Thorat has appointed him to be his [Mr. Thorat’s] spokesman,” said Mr. Patole, stressing that there was no factionalism within Congress but that the issue over Tambe family and Mr. Thorat was a “family problem”.
He further said that internal issues would be sorted out at the State Congress Committee’s meeting on February 15 where Mr. Thorat had been invited as well.
“This is a family feud, not a fight within the Congress… but the BJP still cannot accept its defeat in the recent Maharashtra Legislative Council polls and hence is trying to spread misinformation about the Congress through the BJP-controlled media,” alleged Mr. Patole.
He said that strategies for winning the upcoming Kasba Peth and Chinchwad Assembly byelections would be discussed at the February 15 Congress Working Committee meet.
In his recent letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Thorat had reportedly alleged he was being “targeted” and “humiliated” by Mr. Patole during party meetings while apparently stating it was “impossible” to work with the MPCC chief.
Following his resignation as CLP, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that his party’s doors were always open for everybody who wished to join it.
“The BJP’s doors are open for one and all. Balasaheb Thorat is a very big Congress leader and I am nobody to offer him to join the party. Rest assured, the individual stature of those joining the BJP will not only be respected and retained but given greater importance and respect,” Mr. Bawankule said, cashing in on the Congress’ troubles.
Praising Mr. Thorat as a “tall Congress leader” and “die-hard loyal leader”, Mr. Bawankule said that his resignation as CLP was a sure sign that something was seriously wrong within the Congress.
In response, Mr. Patole said that the BJP was playing diversion games to offset their recent defeat at the hands of the Congress (Opposition MVA) in the recent MLC elections.
