Maharashtra minister Nitish Rane calls Kerala 'mini Pakistan', clarifies after huge row

BJP leader recently sparked a huge row by called Kerala "mini Pak".

Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitish Rane recently sparked a huge row after he called Kerala a "mini Pakistan" during his attempts to target Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Rane, who won the recently-held Maharashtra Assembly polls from the Kankavli seat, has the portfolio of fisheries and ports in the new cabinet.

"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," Nitish Rane was quoted as saying earlier by news agency ANI.

His statement was met with criticism from Opposition leaders who condemned the remark and called his a "traitor".

Congress MP Tariq Anwar told IANS, "These people talk like traitors. They are calling the entire state Pakistani and traitor. This is childish talk..."

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, "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 (Nitesh 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,' he added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey said, as quoted by PTI, "The BJP leaders are worried since PM Modi won only by a lakh votes, they are not able to digest Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's win."

Nitish Rane's remarks came as Rahul Gandhi won from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala in 2019 and again this year along with Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. He chose to retain Raebareli and vacated Wayanad, which was won by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a bye-election last month.

As the issue snowballed, the minister issued a clarification.

"Kerala is an integral part of our country. Kerala is a part of our India. Despite this, seeing the situation in Kerala, I was telling what is happening there. A large number of Hindus are being targeted and many people are being threatened so that they can be converted," Rane was quoted as saying by IANS.

He clarified that he was merely raising issues of religious conversion of Hindus and love jihad in the southern state.

Nitish Rane, son of former Union Minister Narayan Rane, is no stranger to controversy. Earlier in September, he sparked a row with provocative speeches in which he allegedly threatened to hit Muslims and a police case was filed against him.

(With inputs from agencies)