Mumbai, Apr 14 (IANS): The Congress on Friday flayed Bharatiya Janata Party Maharashtra President Chandrashekhar Bawankule's warning that party leader Rahul Gandhi will be prevented from entering the state unless he apologises for his comments on Vinayak D. Savarkar.
In a sharp reaction, state Congress President Nana Patole challenged Bawankule to stop Gandhi from coming to this state and "doesn't need the BJP's permission" to visit whenever he wants.
"Gandhi's visit to Mumbai is still not finalised but he will come to the state very soon... Nobody can stop him. The Congress activists will give him a rousing welcome. Bawankule has no worth even in his own party, so how will he debar Gandhi," he said.
Patole added that the people are "disgusted with the bigoted and communal politics of BJP, the distress due to inflation, joblessness, farmers crises and other issues which the government is ignoring".
"Instead, the BJP is indulging in expanding itself through politics of oppressions by deploying central agencies like CBI, ED for its own survival. No party can grow by breaking other parties, it needs the peoples' support, confidence and a strong mass organisation," he contended.
Pointing to the spate of defections in Karnataka, he advised Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis - "who keeps making noises daily that people will come to BJP from this or that party" - to see the status in the neighbouring state before making tall claims.
"Even though the BJP is spending crores of rupees to defame Rahul Gandhi, his public support keeps increasing. Those who are saying that Congress is 'finished' need not be taken seriously. The BJP and its leaders simply cannot sleep without attacking Congress or Gandhi, as they are now worried," Patole claimed.
The Congress chief said that Bawankule has no moral authority to threaten Gandhi when many BJP leaders have insulted Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule or Karmveer Bhaurao Patil.
"First, he should ask those who have abused these icons to apologise before talking about Gandhi," Patole said firmly.