BJP trying to divert attention from basic issues; change certain in upcoming state polls: Maha Cong chief

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday said the BJP was trying to divert attention from the basic issues faced by the country by indulging in drama, and cited that change is certain in the upcoming polls in five states.Speaking to reporters here, Patole said the Congress is fully ready to fight the upcoming elections.The Congress is ready to fight the upcoming elections in all five states.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday said the BJP was trying to divert attention from the basic issues faced by the country by indulging in drama, and cited that change is certain in the upcoming polls in five states.

Speaking to reporters here, Patole said the Congress is fully ready to fight the upcoming elections.

''The Congress is ready to fight the upcoming elections in all five states. However, the BJP is trying to divert attention from the basic issues of the country by indulging in drama,'' the Congress leader said. ''When they are out of power, they want to save the country and when in power, they want to save themselves. People have understood this type of thinking, and hence, change is certain in the upcoming state elections,'' he said. Speaking about the Prime Minister's security breach row, Patole said, ''From the start, we have been saying that the Congress and the country have lost two prime ministers to security lapses. Hence, the party has taken the issue seriously and is not looking at it politically.'' In what the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) defined as a “major security lapse”, the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur on January 5, after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event or rally.

Patole further questioned why the route given by the MHA was changed at the last moment and how BJP supporters reached the place where the convoy was stranded. These points should be investigated and the Supreme Court has also ordered for an inquiry into this, the Congress leader said. When asked about the recce of ''vital installations'' conducted by terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed in Nagpur, Patole said no such attack can take place in Maharashtra and the state police were able and competent.