NCP chief Sharad Pawar terms rape allegation against Munde as 'serious'

Terming the rape claim by a woman against Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde as serious, NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the party will discuss the issue and decide on it "as soon as possible.

Pawar also referred to the NCBs arrest of the son- in-law of another NCP minister Nawab Malik in a drug case and said people concerned should cooperate with the agency.

The NCP chief said there is no personal allegation against Malik.

Pawar told reporters that Munde met him on Wednesday and explained the details in connection with the allegation.

"I think the allegation against him (Munde) is serious. Naturally, we will have to discuss the issue as a party. I will discuss the same in detail with my key colleagues and take them into confidence," Pawar said.

"Further steps will be taken after knowing their views. We will do this as soon as possible, he added.

Munde told reporters that Pawar and other leaders of the party will take a call on the issue of his resignation.

The 37-year-old woman, an aspiring singer, had said she wrote to Mumbai police commissioner on January 10, stating that Munde repeatedly raped her in 2006. She also claimed that she approached Oshiwara police here earlier but her complaint was ignored.

Munde, NCP leader from Beed district, has denied the allegations, claiming he is being blackmailed by the woman and her sister.

Munde (45) said the woman's claims were part of a conspiracy to blackmail him. He, however, acknowledged that he was in a relationship with the woman's sister and has two children with her.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Munde said his wife, family and friends were aware of this relationship, adding the two kids have been accepted by his family.

He said the woman with whom he was in a relationship had been blackmailing him since 2019 and he had filed a police complaint and also moved the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on distribution of defamatory content against him.