Have offers from Cong, Sena, but in no hurry to quit: Patole

Nagpur: BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Bhandara-Gondia constituency Nana Patole who has been publicly attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said he has offers from the Congress as well as the Sena to join them. However, he said he is in no hurry to quit the BJP.

“Any decision on future course will be taken in February next,” he said, making it clear that he was ready for the waiting game since the party national leadership has largely ignored his shenanigans for the last three months.

Addressing a press conference at the office of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan leader Prashant Pawar on Thursday, Patole accused the Devendra Fadnavis government of not being sincere towards addressing farmers’ problems. “This is the reason that farmers suicide cases have risen to unprecedented high,” he said.

“The loan waiver for farmers has turned out to be a huge humiliation. For all the trouble they took to get online registrations and file applications, till date they have not received any help. The certificates stating their debt has been wiped out have also been withdrawn,” said Patole.

Countering BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari’s charge that Patole, instead of working in his constituency, was going around tarnishing the party’s image, the MP pointed out that he had raised farmers’ issues at every party forum. “I have take it up with Modi, met chief minister several times and even tried to tell Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh. But they are totally indifferent about resolving the farm crisis,” he alleged.

“All I have been asking the party is to make honest efforts to fulfil the election promises like implementing MS Swaminathan formula on crop rates. I have never asked anything, any post or favour, for myself. Yet, I am being branded as a rebel. Bhandari, who has no business to dabble in my affairs, was sulking for two years till he was made a MLC,” said Patole.

The dissident leader has recently met Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and has plans to meet Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi later this month. “I am meeting them to seek support for creation of a joint parliamentary committee for evolving a new agriculture policy for the country,” said Patole. Patole.

Along with other dissidents, Yeshwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha, he has been holding public rallies and claims that there is groundswell of anger within the party against Modi and his style of working.