While Congress MLA Nitesh Rane once again invited controversy with his anti-Gujarati tweet, Congress has distanced itself from Rane junior's statement. Leaders from the community have slammed Nitesh for the statement and said because the father and son lost, they are playing the community hate card.
What did Nitesh tweet?
"Wanna take part in Swacha Bharat abhiyan n start from mumbai!! Wanna start cleaning up all the Marathi hating gujjus from there once for all".
"So much ho ha abt my statement on the Marathi hating gujjus but no 1 is focussing on the hate statements passed by them almost everyday".
What's his defence?
"I have nothing against every Gujarati per se. I have tweeted against those who hate Marathi manoos and refer to them as servants. I have many ways to get rid of such Gujaratis, including through my role as an MLA and by taking to the streets," he told media persons.
Is his party okay with this?
Congress state unit president Manikrao Thakre distanced the party from the tweet and said it does not subscribe to such views against any community. Thakre said he would speak to Nitesh about this.
And what does BJP have to say?
Dilip Patel, former deputy mayor and BJP's group leader in BMC, ridiculed Nitesh's remarks, saying the father-son duo launching a tirade against Gujaratis in city is a testimony of the Ranes' struggle in politics. "This type of hate politics will not last long. See what happened to Raj Thackeray (the MNS chief too had targeted Gujaratis). Nitesh's father also tasted defeat in the assembly polls for the kind of statements he had made. Gujaratis have been living in Mumbai for 100 years now. How can somebody throw us out after we've been here for so long?" asked an agitated Patel.
Will the saffron party take action?
Patel feels taking action against the newly-elected legislator will mean giving him undue importance. "Both Nitesh and his father are suffocating within Congress. Hence, they are making such statements to end their struggle. He will grow bigger if any action is taken against him. Instead, let Congress itself show them the door," he said and added that the 32-year-old referring to the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan only intends to sabotage the programme.
Activistspeak
Civic activist and resident of King's Circle Nikhil Desai also lambasted Rane. "These politicos make people from different communities fight to attain their interest. Mumbai belongs to all. Nitesh is only exposing his illiteracy by making statements like these," he said.
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