BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar on Friday said the party will not allow the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature to run smoothly unless Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod stepped down.

The opposition party has been demanding the resignation of Rathod, a Shiv Sena leader from Yavatmal, since his name was linked to the death of a 23-year-old woman in Pune. Rathod has denied that he had anything to do with the case.