25 November,2023 09:38 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Nana Patole while addressing a public meeting on Saturday. Pic/Anurag Ahire
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Saturday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to change the Constitution and it should be taught a lesson, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, Nana Patole was speaking at the Samvidhan Sanman rally of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, headed by Prakash Ambedkar.
"People need to teach a lesson to the Bharatiya Janata Party that openly talks about changing the country's constitution. The party showed its true colour after coming to power in 2014. Our constitution is the most holy book, but BJP wants to change it," he said, as per the PTI.
Nana Patole further said the Congress would support people who want to change the Constitution and alleged the BJP government's strategy is similar to the divide-and-rule policy of the British Raj.
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"Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed Dr Ambedkar's economic policies. Ambedkar's policies were about collecting money from the rich through taxes and utilizing it for the poor. The Modi government is doing the opposite. That's why I resigned as BJP MP and joined the Congress," he said.
Nana Patole had won the Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra in the 2014 elections by defeating Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel.
Nana Patole had resigned from the BJP in 2017.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties worth Rs 751 crores in connection with the National Herald Case, Congress leader Nana Patole on Wednesday said party heavyweights Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have no stake in the seized properties and they were acquired with monetary contributions from the cadre, reported news agency ANI.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, the senior Congress leader and the party's Maharashtra chief said, "The properties seized in the National Herald case were acquired through monetary donations from Congress workers across the country. The Gandhi family has no stake in the properties attached by the ED. It has already been proved that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are not involved in the matter. However, the top BJP leaders in Delhi are trying to create a perception that the properties belong to the Gandhi family. However, nothing is going to come from this deliberate ploy to drag our top leaders into this matter. The BJP know they are losing the five states where elections have been or will be held."
(with PTI and ANI inputs)