BJP state chief asks Dhas, Munde to bury the hatchet

Now, Bawankule had Dhas and Munde meet a fortnight ago at his Mumbai residence for a reconciliation. The four-and-a-half hour long meeting was kept under wraps but revealed on Friday by both Dhas and Bawankule separately when each spoke to the press in Nanded

MUMBAI: Speculations are rife that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Suresh Dhas and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde have buried the hatchet, after the two met recently aided by state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Dhas had launched a scathing attack on Munde in connection with the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in December.

BJP state chief asks Dhas, Munde to bury the hatchet

Deshmukh was kidnapped and murdered when he tried to foil a ₹2 crore extortion bid from a local windmill company allegedly engineered by Beed strongman Walmik Karad, a close associate of Munde. Over the last two months, since the incident, despite Karad’s links with Munde being established, NCP chief Ajit Pawar refused to take action against him.

Now, Bawankule had Dhas and Munde meet a fortnight ago at his Mumbai residence for a reconciliation. The four-and-a-half hour long meeting was kept under wraps but revealed on Friday by both Dhas and Bawankule separately when each spoke to the press in Nanded.

“They met in my presence. Both have differences but no discord. I told them to resolve their disagreements. Dhananjay has worked with me in the BJP in the past. We are a family,” Bawankule said, insisting that Dhas was not being pressurised to clear the air with Munde.

“Nobody has asked him to compromise. I told him, if the issue is grave he should stick to his guns. He had never demanded Munde’s resignation,” said Bawankule. (Since the murder, opposition leaders have been demanding that Munde resign.)

Dhas, who spoke to media persons twice on Friday, said he had met Munde twice – once at Bawankule’s residence and the second time on Wednesday at the NCP minister’s residence to inquire about his health following a recent eye surgery.

“I was invited to dinner by Bawankule. Munde came for a work meeting, as Bawankule is also the state revenue minister. Bawankule then asked us to resolve our differences,” Dhas told the media. He however insisted that he was not ready to compromise on the murder case. “I said I won’t speak on the Deshmukh issue, and will continue to fight for the slain sarpanch,” he said.

On his meeting with Munde two days ago, Dhas said: “Meeting someone to inquire about their health and fighting for justice for Deshmukh are two separate things. I will continue my fight for justice for Deshmukh.”

Deshmukh’s murder had become a matter of embarrassment for the Mahayuti government, as details of an extortion racket being allegedly run by Walmik Karad, was exposed. When details of the sarpanch’s torture before the murder surfaced, Dhas launched the attack on Karad, accusing him of being the mastermind of the extortion racket running rife in Beed. Leaders of all political parties were choric in their claim that the accused were being shielded due to Karad’s ties with Munde.

Police have since arrested eight accused, while one is absconding, in the murder case; Karad was arrested in previous extortion cases.

Reacting to the development, activist Anjali Damania, who has been making allegations of extortion against Karad and accusing Munde of protecting him, said, “It has become clear – politicians cannot be trusted if such settlements are being made.” State Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said, “Even as SIT is probing the case, instead of going to the root, efforts are being made to settle political rifts. One wonders if the truth will ever come out.” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare said the present development “puts a question mark over the credibility of not just Dhas but also chief minister Fadnavis”.

“We now suspect of Dhas’s attack on Munde was aimed at damaging NCP in Beed and establishing BJP ahead of the local polls,” she alleged.

While Munde remained unavailable to comment on the issue, NCP spokesperson Anand Paranjpe said, “Both Munde and Dhas are in the Mahayuti coalition, so there is nothing wrong if they meet. This will not affect the murder probe.”