Mumbai Apr 18 PTI Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Monday said the state government must ban public rallies of political leaders trying to stoke communal tension His demand came a day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray said he would be holding a rally on May 1 Incidentally at his Gudi Padwa rally on April 2 Thackeray had threatened to counter azaan from loudspeakers atop mosques with Hanuman Chalisa and has also demanded that these loudspeakers be removed by May 3 Issues like price rise which impact people are being sidelined to create communal disturbances with such statements The Constitution has given everyone the right to practice ones religion The Maharashtra government must deny permission to rallies of leaders creating communal tension Patole told reporters He alleged that the Narendra Modi government was unable to tackle rising inflation unemployment farm distress and problems of the industrial sector so was diverting peoples attention with communal issues I am a Hindu and read the Hanuman Chalisa everyday but I need not advertise my religion We do not need anyones permission to pray Those who criticize other religions in fact do not believe in the Constitution Patole said He said the people were beginning to understand the conspiracy of the BJP as the party could not win a single seat in the bypolls held in several states on April 12 On Raj Thackeray Patole said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had earlier called the MNS chief a stooge and only the former chief minister can say whose stooge he was Riots have taken place during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti in Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Delhi and everyone knows which groups were behind these disturbances but attempts to recreate it in Maharashtra failed due to the efforts of the MVA government Patole claimed PTI MR BNM BNM

Mumbai Feb 25 PTI Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should stop his election campaign and instead ensure the safe return of Indian students who are stranded in UkraineIn a tweet Patole also posted a video conversation with a veterinary student from Mumbai who is studying in the east European country which has been invaded by RussiaSpoke to Chaitali a student from Mumbai stuck in Ukraine Due to the war in Ukraine students are expecting assistance from the Government of India Modi ji stop the election campaign and bring our students back home he tweetedA large number of Indians mostly students are stuck in Ukraine amid the Russian invasionThe Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said efforts were on to evacuate stranded students through Romanian and Hungarian border crossings PTI PR KRK KRK

Mumbai Feb 23 PTI Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday claimed that state minister and NCP leader Nawab Maliks questioning by the Enforcement Directorate ED was an act of revenge and the need of the hour was to unitedly fight against the tactics to silence political opponents Talking to reporters here Patole whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra said the Congress stood firmly with Malik who has been raising his voice against the BJPs anti-people policies and arrogance of power We will discuss such actions by central probe agencies and unitedly fight against the tactics to silence politicalopponents the Congress leader said He also accused the BJP of maligning Maharashtra for the sake of power The Shiv Sena NCP and Congress had in 2019 joined hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the state The ED on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCPs chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides officials said Meanwhile BJP state president Chandrakant Patil told reporters in Pune that if leaders of the NCP and other MVA constituents think that the EDs action against Nawab Malik is misuse of power they can approach court to seek justice We BJP have been subjected to injustice for the last 27 months by the state government but when our 12 MLAs were suspended we went to court and got justice Similarly if they think that victimisation is happening they should approach the court he said Patil said when former state home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case there was a similar outcry but it later died down The BJP leader also claimed that Deshmukh had said if he Deshmukh opens his mouth it will cost MVA dearly Earlier in the day NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Malik is being troubled because he spoke against the Union government and misuse of central probe agencies Which case have they dug up It is simple They take the name of Dawood especially if there is a Muslim activist against whom a case is dug upThere is no relation between the activist concerned and underworld but it is done Pawar said Reacting to Pawars comments Patil accused the NCP chief of fanning casteism Sometimes he does that between Marathas and non-Marathas sometimes he does that between minorities and non-minorities But people know this kind of Pawars politics which is going on for the last 50 years The non-Muslim communities know this and they will not take it seriously he said PTI MR SPK GK GK

Mumbai Feb 22 PTI Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking classical language tag for Marathi contending that it fulfils all the criteria to be categorised so In separate letters to the President and Prime Minister Patole noted that Marathi is Maharashtras state language and it has separate grammar and script and at least 10 crore people speak the language Marathi lives up to all the criteria to be tagged as a classical language Hence Marathi should be categorised so the Congress leader stated in the letter To drive home his point Patole said the mention of Marathi was seen on the coins found in Gharapuri Elephanta caves from the Satavahana regime of the 3rd century Patole an MLA from Sakoli in Vidarbhas Bhandara district said Marathi has found mention in several ancient inscriptions Marathi-speaking people are spread across Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Telangana Goa and Gujarat and in countries such as the US Australia UK New Zealand among others the Congress leader said Marathi is taught across 23 universities in America Since Marathi fulfils all the criteria to be called a classical language the demand should be considered sympathetically Patole said PTI ENM ARU ARU

Mumbai Jan 21 PTI Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant on Friday said the CBI probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput has been a hoax and a disgrace to the renowned institutionTaking to Twitter Sawant said that at least 534 days after the CBI took charge and 474 days since the AIIMS ruled out murder in the case of Rajputs death the investigation has been a hoax and disgrace to the renowned institutionThe Congress leader took to social media to pay tribute to the actor on his birth anniversary Tribute to a talented actor SushantSinghRajput on his birth anniversary His unfortunate death was horribly misused by Modi govt BJP for cheap electoral gains in Bihar Cheap stunt to defame destabilise MVA govt Sawant said534 days of CBI took charge 474 days since the AIIMS ruled out murder CBI which shows extraordinary efficiency in investigating matters related to opposition leaders continues to drag its feet on the SSR case This investigation has been a hoax disgrace to this renowned institution he tweetedThe 34-year-old actor was found dead in his apartment in Bandra on June 14 2020 Starting with the Mumbai Police Enforcement Directorate ED Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and Narcotics Control Bureau NCB were brought in to investigate various angles in the actors death PTI PR ARU ARU

Nagpur Jan 18 PTI Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday said the BJP was protesting over his video with the Modi reference to divert attention from real issues the people were facing The video was widely circulated on Monday after a television channel aired it and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis tweeted about it though Patole had clarified that the Modi referred to in his conversation with villagers of Bhandara district was not the prime minister but a local goon Speaking to reporters in Nagpur Patole said the goon he was referring to has been detained by Bhandara police but the BJP was still in protest mode despite COVID-19 norms to divert peoples attention and vitiate the atmosphere The Congress knows the dignity of the post of prime minister and it was the BJP that was damaging the image of Maharashtra with such protests he added The Congress district level leaders will file complaints against BJP leaders indulging in these protests which were lowering the dignity of the post of prime minister Patole warned PTI CLS BNM BNM BNM

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday said the state government should take serious note of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommais remark that 40 villages from Jat tehsil in the border district of Sangli were welcome to join the southern state Speaking on a point of information in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Patole said the state government needs to understand what problems these villages are facing Bommai has spoken about it in the Karnataka Assembly and we need to take it seriously He also said Karnataka will not part with even an inch of Belagavi and other Marathi-dominated areas in that state the Congress leader said Maharashtra and Karnataka are locked in a border dispute for several decades and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court Maharashtra stakes claim to Belagavi Karwar and surrounding areas which have a sizable Marathi-speaking population and are part of the southern state NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal who is coordination minister for the Marathi-dominated border areas in Karnataka had last week asserted that what Bommai said would never happen Congress MLA Vikramsinh Sawant recently said in the Maharashtra Assembly these 40 villages had launched an agitation in 2011-12 threatening to join Karnataka if they did not get basic amenities including drinking water But the gram panchayats had not passed any resolution he added PTI MR GK GK

Mumbai Nov 17 PTI The Congress is seeking legal opinion on Kangana Ranauts recent comments on Indias independence and a party leader has already requested the police to register a complaint against her the partys Maharashtra unit chief Nana Patole said on Wednesday and dubbed the actors remarks anti-nationalSpeaking to reporters here Patole said the Congress will take a firm stand against such coordinated attacksCongress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said BJPs attempt to murder the ideology of Gandhi ji through its puppets was neither successful in the past nor will it succeed in the future Gandhi is the past as well as the future Days after her Indias independence in 1947 was bheek remarks triggered a row Ranaut on Tuesday claimed Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh got no support from Mahatma Gandhi and went on to mock his mantra of ahimsa by saying that offering another cheek gets you bheek not freedomShe had described Indias Independence as bheek or alms and declared that freedom came in 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came to powerIn a series of posts on Instagram Ranaut this time targeted Gandhi and said choose your heroes wiselyThere are some Hindi film actors who are given some awards and being used to distort the historical facts We are seeking a legal opinion on the matter Once we arrive at a decision the party will take its next firm stand regarding such coordinated attacks Patole said when asked about comments made by RanautHe said Congress leader Naseem Khan a former minister has already requested the police to file a complaint against RanautPatole said such distortion of facts is an anti-national act but the ruling dispensation is encouraging such commentsSpeaking on the violence that had erupted in Amaravati Malegaon and Nanded cities in Maharashtra last week Patole alleged the BJP is playing a communal card in Maharashtra to polarise voters ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly pollsThe police investigation will bring out the truth behind such incidents he saidThe Congress is one of the constituents in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in MaharashtraOn Friday stone-pelting was witnessed in Amravati Malegaon and some other cities during rallies taken out by Muslim organisations protesting against alleged communal violence in TripuraOn Saturday a mob hurled stones at shops in Amravatis Rajkamal Chowk area during a bandh shut-down called by the BJP prompting the police to impose a curfew for four days PTI ND SKC ZMN

Mumbai Nov 17 PTI The Congress is seeking a legal opinion on recent comments made by Kangana Ranaut and a party leader had already requested the police to register a complaint against her Maharashtra party unit president Nana Patole said on Wednesday and dubbed the Bollywood actors remarks anti-national Speaking to reporters here Patole said Congress will take a firm stand against such coordinated attacks Days after her Indias independence in 1947 was bheek remarks triggered a row Ranaut on Tuesday claimed Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh got no support from Mahatma Gandhi and went on to mock his mantra of ahimsa by saying that offering another cheek gets you bheek not freedom She had described Indias Independence as bheek or alms and declared that freedom came in 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power In a series of posts on Instagram Ranaut this time targeted Mahatma Gandhi and said choose your heroes wisely There are some Hindi film actors who are given some awards and being used to distort the historical facts We are seeking a legal opinion on the matter Once we arrive at a decision the party will take its next firm stand regarding such coordinated attacks Patole said when asked about comments made by Ranaut He said Congress leader Naseem Khan a former minister has already requested the police to file a complaint against Ranaut Patole said such distortion of facts is an anti-national act but the ruling dispensation is encouraging such comments Speaking on the violence that had erupted in Amaravati Malegaon and Nanded cities in Maharashtra last week Patole alleged the BJP is playing a communal card in Maharashtra to polarise voters ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls The police investigation will bring out the truth behind such incidents he said The Congress is one of the constituents in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra On Friday stone-pelting was witnessed in Amravati Malegaon and some other cities during rallies taken out by Muslim organisations protesting against alleged communal violence in Tripura On Saturday a mob hurled stones at shops in Amravatis Rajkamal Chowk area during a bandh shut-down called by the BJP prompting the police to impose a curfew for four days PTI ND NSK NSK

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 17 (ANI): Maharashtra Congress to take legal action against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her alleged statement against Mahatma Gandhi, said state chief Nana Patole on Wednesday.