NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday hit out at BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan" and said it shows their "deep-rooted animosity" for people of the southern state.
He also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately sack Rane for making such "shameful" remarks.
"From time to time, the BJP deploys its hatemongers to spew venom against Kerala. Using terms like 'Mini Pakistan' shows they have deep-rooted animosity for the people of Kerala," Venugopal said in a post on X.
The Congress leader said for the entire world, Kerala is a model state that has continuously topped the human development indices, especially on education, healthcare and overall standard of living.
Since millennia, Kerala has been a beacon of communal harmony and brotherhood among all religions and sects, he added.
"To use abusive language for the land of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamikal and Mahatma Ayyankali, who advocated for egalitarianism, inclusivity and social justice, shows the BJP's disregard for its own fellow citizens. If PM Modi has any shame about Mr. Rane's statements, he should sack him immediately," the Congress general secretary said.
"The people of Kerala have rejected, and will never accept the BJP for this very reason - they do not understand the beauty of its harmonious living," Venugopal added.
Maharashtra minister Rane sparked a major controversy by calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan" and stating "all terrorists vote for Gandhis", a reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad.
Speaking at a rally in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, the BJP minister said, "Kerala is mini Pakistan. Terrorists (earlier) voted for Rahul Gandhi and now for his sister Priyanka Gandhi."
Facing sharp criticism from opposition parties for his comments, Rane on Monday said Kerala is very much part of India and he is merely raising issues of religious conversion of Hindus and "love jihad" in the southern state.
Rahul Gandhi had won from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala in 2019 and again in 2024 along with Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
He retained Rae Bareli seat and vacated Wayanad, which was won by Priyanka Gandhi in a bye-election last month.