Nitesh Rane labels Kerala "Mini-Pakistan", Congress questions induction in Maha cabinet

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 (ANI): In a controversial remark, Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane has compared Kerala to "Mini-Pakistan." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi were elected as members of Parliament for precisely this reason.
"Kerala is mini Pakistan that is why Rahul Gandhi and his sister are elected from there. All terrorists vote for them. This is the truth, you can ask. They have become MPs after taking terrorists with them," Rane said while addressing a rally in Purandar Taluka of Pune district.
Rane, son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, was speaking at a function on the occasion of Shiv Pratap Din, the anniversary of a historic incident when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had killed Afzal Khan when he made these remarks.
Rane won the recently concluded 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections from the Kankavli seat. In the new cabinet, Rane has been given the portfolio of fisheries and ports.
Reacting to this, Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and questioned the need for Rane to remain part of the cabinet. He said that Rane's work was to do this only.
"What else can one expect from Nitesh Rane? He has been elected to do this only. However, I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis. The person (Rane), who is a minister, has taken an oath of the Constitution to (maintain) the sovereignty and unity of India. Now, he is labelling one of the country's states as Pakistan. He is calling the voters there as 'terrorists.' Should he have the right to remain in the ministerial position? This is my question to you. From morning to evening, Nitesh Rane only spreads Dharmandata (communalism). If you (Modi and Fadnavis) call yourself deshbhakt (nationalist), how is such a person still in the cabinet?" (ANI)