Party worker washes Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole's feet; BJP condemns 'feudal' mindset

Maharashtra Congress Chief Nana Patole/ X

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has come under fire when a video of a party member washing his filthy feet appeared on social media. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised the incident, criticising the Congress party's "culture".

The incident occurred on Monday while Patole was touring the Akola area and attending a programme at Wadegaon. Patole walked through the mud at Nanasaheb Chincholkar Vidyalaya after receiving 'darshan' from Saint Gajanan Maharaj's palanquin. When Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole returned to his car, a man was seen cleaning the mud off his feet, which was captured on film and promptly shared on social media, reported ANI.

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According to the report, in response to the scandal, Patole held a press conference and stated, "I am not hiding yesterday's incident. The worker was pouring water (on my feet). There was no tap - 'Har ghar mein nal, har ghar mein jal', otherwise I would have used water from the tap."

The BJP's official Mumbai handle criticised the Congress in a post on X, stating in Marathi, "What is terrible is that the Congress is continually abusing the workers who struggle for their lives. It's unfortunate that Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole forced an activist wash his feet because they were muddy. Is this the culture of Congress?

Shehzad Poonawalla, a BJP spokesperson, criticised the behaviour as part of a "Nawabi feudal shehzada" mindset and demanded an apology from both Patole and the Congress party, the report added.

"Congress has a Nawabi Feudal Shehzada mindset. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole 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 said on X.