Cong now "frustrated", "dejected": BJP hits back at Nana Patole's 'dog' remark in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday doubled down against Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole's purported 'dog' remarks targetting their leaders in Maharashtra and terming it as Congress' frustration ahead of assembly polls in the State.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said the remarks prove that Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition alliance has gone "from disappointment to dejection."
Speaking to ANI, Somaiya said, "They are going from disappointment to dejection. Sharad Pawar is saying something; Uddhav Thackeray is verbally abusing Election Commission. Now, Rahul Gandhi's Congress is calling the BJP a 'kutta' because opinion polls show a clear majority for Mahayuti. So, I can understand their disappointment."
The Congress leader Patole had during campaigning for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Akola on Monday said, "I want to ask, will the OBC people of Akola district vote for the BJP who are calling you dogs? It is time to make the BJP a dog now; they have become so arrogant" Patole had said.
Patole's comments seeking to blame the BJP of disrespecting the OBC community are expected to intensify the ongoing political rivalry between the MVA and Mahayuti ahead ofthe November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, "Nana Patole is frustrated because when he travels on ground, he can understand that the Congress is not going to form a government in Maharashtra. But in his frustration, he has said that he wants to tame the BJP as dogs... This shows the 'Emergency' mindset of the Congress party that it wants to tame its rivals and bring them under control; it wants to file cases against them and silence them. If they come to power in Maharashtra, they will file cases against whoever speaks against them.
"That is why we say that Congress wants to damage the Constitution. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution gives you freedom of speech. I condemn the word used by Nana Patole but it also shows their inferiority complex. Yesterday, Karnataka Congress leader Zameer Ahmed used the term 'kaala' for his rival. It is a racist term. Today, they are using the term 'kutta'...I can understand the frustration of Nana Patole. When they are not forming their government, they get frustrated and say absurd things," the BJP spokesperson added.
JD(S) on its social media handle X on Monday shared a video where Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan while an election campaign in Channapatna by-polls purpotedly makes disparging remarks against the former chief minister terming him as "Kala Kumaraswamy."
In a social media post on X, the official handle of JD(S) wrote, "Housing Minister @BZZameerAhmedK used racial slurs during Channapatna by-election campaign. Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was insulted by Jameer Ahmed Khan as "Kala Kumaraswamy" (Black Kumaraswamy) in Urdu. By this they have racially insulted the black people and committed racial discrimination. Apart from that, these words of racial hatred coming from the mouth of Jameer Ahmed, who has uplifted a community and encouraged people to deteriorate the peace and order in the society, are unforgivable crime."
The Maharashtra Assembly elections will take place on November 20, and votes will be counted on November 23.
The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), aims to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.