‘Whatever stand Ajit Pawar takes will be final’: Devendra Fadnavis on demand for NCP minister Munde's ouster

NCP's Munde faces heat after his close aide, Walmik Karad, was arrested in an extortion case linked to the brutal murder of Massajog village sarpanch in Beed.

Published on: Jan 30, 2025, 20:47:12 IST

PTI | By HT News Desk

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Putting the ball in his deputy's court, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Ajit Pawar will take a decision about NCP minister Dhananjay Munde who is under fire over the Beed sarpanch murder case.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. (File) (PTI)

Fadnavis's remark on the sidelines of a rally in Delhi came hours after Munde, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, met him. "Dhananjay Munde and I met during the cabinet meeting in the morning. He is a minister in our government, and there is nothing secret about our meeting. He can meet me anytime, and I can meet him anytime," Fadnavis told reporters in the national capital. "Ajit Pawar has made a statement about (demand for) his resignation. Whatever stand Ajit Pawar takes, will be final," the CM added.

Munde has been facing the heat since the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in an extortion case related to the brutal murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district in December. Munde is an MLA from the same district. After activist Anjali Damania met deputy CM Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, and handed some documents about alleged nexus between Munde and Karad, Pawar had said those found guilty after inquiry will certainly face action.

Earlier in the day, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule criticised the BJP-led government over the probe into the Deshmukh murder case, saying one of the alleged killers was at large even 50 days after the crime. Seven persons have been arrested in connection with the murder, while accused Krishna Andhale is still at large.

"A lot of people are speaking about the issue, and our collective demand is that the decision (of seeking resignation of Dhananjay Munde) on moral grounds should be taken in view of the cases being probed by the CID in Beed," Sule added.

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