Accusing the ruling BJP at the Centre and State of not keeping the promises made to farmers, BJP MP from Maharashtra Nana Patole on Friday resigned from the party and the lok Sabha and announced to join hands with Congress. His resignation comes a day before the crucial Gujarat polls on Saturday. Patole would campaign alongwith Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Ahmedabad on December 11.
Patole claimed that there is a lot of dissent among BJP leaders and there could be more resignations. He alleged that people are dying due to the BJP Governments' policies. In his resignation letter, the former BJP MP cited 14 issues related to agriculture, economy and unemployment as reasons for his resignation.
Patole, who had quit the Congress to join the BJP before the 2014 lok Sabha polls, also took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his response to issues raised by him was not expected in a democracy and they had an "argument". He was referring to a meeting Modi had with BJP MPs from some states.
The MP from Bhandara-Gondiya constituency, where he had defeated NCP heavyweight Praful Patel in 2014, also met Congress general secretary in-charge for Maharashtra Mohan Prakash, who said his party was a home for Patole.
"He is an old colleague from the party. He has been raising the issues Rahulji (Congress vice-president) and our party have been raising. He did so by staying within the ruling party," Prakash said. Patole had recently met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan.
He said he had long been raising pro-farmers and pro- people issues. "I have raised these issues in the lok Sabha and flagged them whenever I met PM Modi and the State's Chief Minister. When I highlighted them at a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence, his response was not something expected in a democracy," he said.