Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has come under fire for making one the party workers wash his mud-stained feet on Monday. A video of the incident surfaced on social media, drawing criticism against the Congress leader.
Watch the video below
Patole on was a visit to Wadgaon in Akola distrcit to attend an event ogranised by a party supporter for the state Congress chief's birthday. During the event, Patole also visited a palanquin procession of Saint Shri Gajanan Maharaj near a local school where it had rained, resulting in the ground to turn muddy. He along with the others went to the palanquin through the muddy ground.
By the time he returned towards his vehicle, Patole's feet were covered in mud, and called for water to clean them. Following this, a party worker reportedly identified as Vijay Gurav washed Patole's mud-covered feet with his hands. Notably, the Maharashtra Congress chief did not bother to stop Gurav from washing his feet and neither did he clean his mud-covered feet himself.
Patole letting the party worker wash his feet did not go down well the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Its spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took to X to criticise the Congress leader and demanded an apology from him.
"Congress has a Nawabi Feudal Shehzada mindset. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole's gets his leg and feet washed by a party worker in Akola... They treat Janta and workers like Ghulam & themselves like Kings & Queens. Imagine how they treat people without coming to power! What will they do if they by mistake come to power. Nana Patole must apologise & so must Congress," Poonawalla wrote in the post.
Meanwhile, several X users also expressed their disapproval over Patole's actions.
While some said the incident was not "shocking", others maintained that it reflected how the Congress treated its workers.
Nana Patole tries to clarify his stance
After the incident gained significant traction, Patole issued a clarification by saying that the the matter was unnecessarily blown out of proportion and that he feels he has been unfairly targeted after the Lok Sabha election results. He said that he asked his party worker to bring water to clean his feet himself.
"I come from a farmer family and I am used to having my feet covered in mud. ... My feet were covered in mud and asked a party worker to bring water. He poured the water on my feet and I washed my feet myself," Patole said at a press conference. However, the video clearly showed the party worker washing Patole's feet with his hands.
