BJP demands resignation of Maharashtra Congress minister Yashomati Thakur convicted in assault case

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Maharashtra women and child development minister Yashomati Thakur for her conviction in a 2012 assault

Published on: Oct 17, 2020, 24:02:46 IST

By HT Correspondent, Mumbai

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Maharashtra women and child development minister Yashomati Thakur for her conviction in a 2012 assault case. Thakur is also the working president of the Maharashtra Congress and legislator from Teosa in Amravati district. Additionally, she holds the post of guardian minister of Amravati.

The Amravati district and sessions court on Thursday found Thakur and three others guilty of beating up an on-duty police officer who stopped her vehicle on a one-way lane. Judge Urmila Joshi sentenced Thakur, her driver and two workers to three months’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹15,500 each.

Commenting on the judgement, BJP spokesperson Shivray Kulkarni said that Thakur has lost any moral right to continue in office. “How can a minister who abuses and bashes up police personnel and does not respect the law of the land continue as the minister?” questioned Kulkarni. “Thakur should first unconditionally apologise to her voters as well as the police department, for her action, and tender her resignation,” he added.

Kulkarni said the incident took place when the Congress party was in power in Maharashtra, and the BJP had no role to play in this matter. Thakur was not available for comment.

The incident took place on March 24, 2012, when Thakur, then an MLA, was travelling in her vehicle along with her aides. When the traffic policeman Ulhas Raurale noticed that her vehicle was entering a one-way lane from Chunabhatti to Gandhi Chowk, he stopped it. Angry with the cop, the convicted trio assaulted Raurale, following which a first information report (FIR) was registered against them at Rajapeth police station.

The Congress dismissed the BJP’s resignation demand as politically motivated and said that the BJP should first introspect. “Yashomati Thakur has not been convicted of corruption, and it was due to some personal tiff. She is going to appeal in the Bombay high court against this order,” said Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant. “Many of the BJP’s ministers in the last government were accused of corruption, but they still refused to resign,” he added.