Nitesh Rane Sparks Row With “Kerala Mini-Pak” Comment, Then Clarifies

Nitesh Rane, Maharashtra minister and the son of former Union Minister Narayan Rane, has sparked another controversy calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan" during his attempts to target Congress's Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, elected to Lok Sabha from Wayanad. Called out by the Opposition, he clarified that while Kerala is part of India, he compared it to India because of the incidents of "love jihad" and religious conversions that occur in the state.

"Kerala is mini Pakistan that is why Rahul Gandhi and his sister are elected from there. All terrorists vote for them. This is the truth, you can ask. They have become MPs after taking terrorists with them," Mr Rane was quoted as saying earlier by news agency ANI.

The Opposition leaders lost no time in condemning his remarks.

"What else can one expect from Nitesh Rane?" fumed Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe.