"I am going to meet Rane in the next couple of days to invite him to join our party founded by Babasaheb Ambedkar. By bringing non-dalit leaders like Rane into party fold, we want to realise dreams
of Ambedkar," Athavale told PTI over phone on Wednesday.
"We feel that Rane should stay with Congress but if he decides to leave the party, we will welcome him into RPI,"
Athavale said.
"Ambedkar had wanted RPI to have at least 60 per cent non-dalit members...We have embarked on this agenda," the Lok Sabha member from Pandharpur said.
"I had earlier advised Rane, who is my good friend, to become Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president but he was not interested," he said.
