We will felicitate Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai on September 1, says Maha Congress chief Nana Patole

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Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday said that the party will hold a grand felicitation for its senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who was recently reinstated as an MP, when he arrives in Mumbai this week for a meeting of the opposition I-N-D-I-A bloc.

Nana Patole also said that the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) - Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) group with Sharad Pawar - will discuss the seat-sharing formula for next year's Lok Sabha polls on the basis of merit.

"The autocratic Modi government in the country took action against the Congress leader MP Rahul Gandhi out of political vendetta but he did not budge and bravely faced Modi's dictatorship without any fear. Rahul Gandhi instead gave the message of ‘Daro Mat' (do not be afraid). Keeping in mind the sentiment of all Congress workers, Gandhi will be felicitated on September 1 in Mumbai," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi was falsely accused and his Lok Sabha membership was suspended, after which he was also forced to vacate his government residence but Rahul Gandhi did not back down. After the Supreme Court's decision, the Modi government had to restore Rahul Gandhi's MP status. Participating in the no-confidence motion against the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi attacked the government. He slammed the Modi government on the issue of Manipur. Rahul Gandhi, the fearless warrior of the Congress, who has stood against the dictatorial rule in the country, will be felicitated on September 1 at 5 pm," Nana Patole said while addressing media after reviewing the preparations for the felicitation of Rahul Gandhi at the Congress office Tilak Bhavan in Dadar.

Responding to a query on the seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra, Nana Patole said, "In the Mahavikas Aghadi, there is no contest or fight over the allocation of seats for the Lok Sabha elections . Uddhav Thackeray has also made it clear that seats will be allotted according to merit and the Congress party is also taking the same stand."

He further said that that MVA's aim is to defeat the Modi government and this alliance is focusing on it.

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Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that BJP's criticism of the I-N-D-I-A bloc meeting is ridiculous.

"With 28 parties across the country united against the Modi government, Narendra Modi has hastily called a meeting of the NDA allies as soon as the second meeting of the I-N-D-I-A alliance was being held in Bengaluru. Modi and BJP are scared seeing the strength of INDIA alliance. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 62 percent people voted against Modi," Chavan said.

"The opposition parties have decided not to allow division of votes this time. As I-N-D-I-A Aghadi stands strong, parties like BRS are being promoted by the BJP to split votes.

There are internal contradictions in the BJP-led Shinde government in the state. It is a fact that even though this government has been in office for more than a year, it has not been able to appoint guardian ministers in each of the districts, the cabinet has not been expanded," he added.

He further said that disputes are also going on between the ruling parties over the allocation of funds.

"The controversy in the government is affecting farmers, youth, workers and investment in the state. Due to the unstable political situation in Maharashtra, no big investor is coming to set up business here. A major project like Vedanta Foxconn moved out of the state. Even now Apple company has invested Rs 5000 crore in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka state. Due to this, the youth of the state are deprived of employment. Increasing the export duty on onion to 40% is causing loss to farmers," Chavan said.

Prithviraj Chavan has demanded that the central government should immediately cancel the export duty as onion is being sold for Rs 200-300 per kg in Japan and China. "If onion is exported, farmers will get more money," he said.