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BJP MP quits, claims 'betrayal'

Nana Patole said PM, CM did not push for farmers

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A day before the first phase of polling in Gujarat, BJP MP from Bhandara Gondia, Nana Patole, resigned from the party and the Lok Sabha. The reason, he said, was the Prime Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister's apathy towards issues related to the plight of farmers, the economy and unemployment, despite repeated communication.

In the one-line resignation letter submitted to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Friday morning, Patole did not cite any reasons for his dissent, but listed 14 issues later while addressing a press conference. For the past six months, Patole has been quite vocal against the Centre and the state government, especially about farmer distress. He was part of the recent agitation launched by veteran BJP leader and former union finance minister Yashwant Sinha for farmers's rights.

Even though Patole says he has not yet decided to join any party, there are indications that he may return to the Congress which he had left in 2014, just before the Lok Sabha elections. He was then elected to the lower house on a BJP ticket from the Bhandara Gondia seat, after defeating NCP heavyweight Praful Patel.

Hours after his resignation, Congress general secretary Mohan Prakash and some leaders reportedly met Patole with an offer to join the party. Congress' state party president, Ashok Chavan, has already offered him a "ghar vapsi".

BJP's Maharashtra chief, Raosaheb Danve, downplayed Patole's exit, saying he has a habit of changing parties.

In a telephonic interview from New Delhi, Patole told DNA, "I was not keen on continuing as MP to just warm up the chair. Issues raised by me were ignored by the Centre and State. They are functioning arbitrarily, with their ears and eyes closed. I was elected by the people and therefore decided to quit and fight back by returning to them. I will soon start a state-wide tour. I have yet to take a call on joining any party."

Patole said he had joined BJP with certain objectives but has now realised that he was unable to achieve those, despite three years of the Modi government at the Centre and a Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra.

"Modi, during the Lok Sabha campaign, had assured that he would implement the MS Swaminathan Commission report, but it has not happened yet," he said. "Besides, the state government's much debated crop loan waiver has been caught in red tap and riddled with technical glitches. There has been a record 43% increase in farmers suicides in the last three years. There has been little action to curb them. The government has betrayed the people."

Apart from these issues, Patole said the government did not act on his demands for reservation for other backward classes and a special ministry for the same. "Besides, the State did not resolve the issue of scholarship for OBC students and those from backward classes," he added. "Moreover, demonetisation had led to unemployment and GST has adversely impacted many industries."

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