Maharashtra Congress has issued a show cause notice to party candidate from Nagpur Central Assembly constituency Hrishikesh alias Bunty Shelke over his remarks accusing state president Nana Patole of being an ‘RSS agent’. The notice issued on Saturday sought a written explanation from Shelke within two days as to why he should not be suspended for allegedly defaming the Congress party and Patole. Shelke’s comments, made after the Congress Assembly candidates meeting on November 28, 2024, have raised concerns within the party.
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Shelke had lost the assembly elections to BJP’s Praveen Datke. He publicly blamed Patole for his defeat. Along with this he accused sabotage and lack of support from the party. Speaking to the media, Shelke said that Patole should be sacked from the Congress and sent to the RSS as his actions are in line with their agenda. The former corporator further accused Patole of undermining his campaign, alleging that block presidents opposing him were appointed and his name was kept out of the major candidate panel.
Shelke claimed that despite having the Congress symbol, I contested the elections as if I was an independent. Most of the block presidents worked against me, even during Priyanka Gandhi’s road shows, the party organization was missing. Shelke also accused Patole of colluding with the BJP and claimed that key Congress workers were instructed to cooperate with the rival party. “This betrayal demoralized the cadre and damaged the party’s prospects,” he said.
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It was written in the notice that on 28 November 2024, a meeting of assembly candidates of Congress Party was organized at Tilak Bhawan. You were also present in this meeting. Speaking to the media at Tilak Bhawan premises after the meeting, as a result of the false and baseless allegations made by you against the Congress Party and Honorable State President Nana Patole, the reputation of the Congress Party and Honorable State President Nana Patole has been tarnished.
