Overview
- A short video that circulated on Monday shows two men pouring milk and washing Congress leader Nana Patole’s feet during a Guru Purnima ceremony and has been widely shared on social media.
- Maharashtra BJP leaders, led by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, publicly ridiculed the footage and called it reflective of a so‑called 'Congress culture.'
- Patole told reporters the men were younger members of his extended family who insisted they consider him their guru and that he did not ask or force the ritual.
- The Congress leader said he felt uncomfortable with the gesture and accused the BJP of hypocrisy by referencing allegations about misappropriated donations tied to the Ayodhya Ram Temple.
- Coverage so far is confined to media and social reaction with no reported legal action, and the episode highlights how private religious gestures can be amplified into partisan culture‑war disputes.