Dhananjay Munde resigns: Medical or moral grounds?

NCP Ajit Pawar faction minister Dhananjay Mundersquos resignation on Tuesday has sparked fresh controversy as both Pawar and Munde have cited different reasons for Mundersquos stepping down from the Devendra Fadnavisled Mahayuti governmentOn Tuesday Food and Civil Supplies Minister Munde submitted his resignation to the CM which was immediately accepted Speaking to the media at Vidhan Bhavan Fadnavis said ldquoMunde has offered his resignation I have accepted it and forwarded the same to the governor for further processrdquoHowever the resignation soon exposed cracks within the NCP Ajit Pawar faction Pawar claimed Munde quit on moral grounds but Mundersquos post on X suggested otherwise Referring to viral pictures and videos of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukhrsquos brutal murder Munde wrote ldquoThe entire episode is mentally disturbing Doctors have advised rest On medical grounds I am offering my resignationrdquoMaha Vikas Aghadi leaders protest against Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde demanding his resignation over the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh Munde resigned on Tuesday citing medical grounds PicPTIThe demand for Mundersquos resignation had been growing since the day of the murder Political pressure and public outrage intensified on Monday evening after disturbing images and videos of Deshmukhrsquos killing surfaced on social media Finally 84 days after the incident Munde resignedThe visuals are reportedly part of the charge sheet submitted by the Crime Investigation Department CID to the Beed court According to the charge sheet Valmik Karad and seven others are prime accused in Deshmukhrsquos murder Karadrsquos alleged proximity to Munde has raised ethical concernsDeshmukhrsquos family members social activist Anjali Damania Maratha leader Manoj Jarange and Mahayuti leadersmdashSuresh Dhas BJP and NCP Ajit Pawar faction MLA Prakash Solankemdashhave been vocal about the case and Mundersquos resignation Both Dhas and Solanke hail from Beed a district heavily influenced by MundeOn March 3 the first day of the budget session MVA leaders staged a protest demanding Mundersquos resignation On Sunday while addressing the media ahead of the session Fadnavis had stated that any resignation decision would be based on moral considerations Even BJP ally and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale backed the publicrsquos demand ldquoMunde is not directly involved but his proximity to Karad warrants his resignation on moral groundsrdquo he had saidUBT divided over resignationAaditya Thackeray slammed the government for delaying Mundersquos resignation and demanded the Mahayuti governmentrsquos dismissal However Milind Narvekar a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray and member of the Legislative Council congratulated Fadnavis on X after Munde stepped downPolitical reactionsMundersquos cousin Pankaja Munde who is the statersquos Environment Minister welcomed the resignation but said it should have come sooner ldquoIdeally Dhananjay Munde should not have taken the oath as minister in the first placerdquo she saidAaditya Thackeray and NCP Sharad Pawar faction MLA Rohit Pawar demanded that Munde be made a coaccused in the case ldquoReports suggest the murder was linked to an extortion demand that the minister Dhananjay Munde was aware of He should be made a coaccusedrdquo said Rohit Pawar Sharad Pawarrsquos grandsonAaditya Thackeray further demanded that the government be dissolved over the case ldquoThe revised charge sheet should include Dhananjay Munde as a coaccusedrdquo he saidNCP MP Supriya Sule questioned whether the resignation was truly on moral grounds ldquoThe demand for Mundersquos resignation has been longstanding But he resigned only after 84 days when the visuals went viral and public outrage peaked Can this still be called a resignation on moral groundsrdquo she askedNCP Sharad Pawar faction and MLA Jitendra Awhad questioned the delay in resignation ldquoThe investigation agency must have briefed the government about the pictures Then why did the government wait for resignation till the images and videos were out in the public domain Had not there been public outcry the resignation would not have happened This exhibits how insensitive the ruling regime isrdquo Awhad former minister for housing addedMundersquos disqualification demandedSocial activist Anjali Damania who has been fighting for justice for Deshmukhrsquos family stated that mere resignation was not enough ldquoI will fight until Mundersquos MLA status is revokedrdquo she asserted