Maharashtra minister resigns after aide’s arrest in Beed sarpanch murder case

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde submitted his resignation on Tuesday, reported India Today.

According to the report, Munde said he resigned because of health reasons but also condemned the brutal killing of the Sarpanch of Massajog.

In a post on X, Munde said the images of the incident had distressed him deeply, and he had been demanding the strictest punishment for the perpetrator from day 1, said the report.

Devendra Fadnavis said he has accepted Munde’s resignation and forwarded it to Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan for approval.

Munde’s resignation comes amid opposition’s demand for his removal.

During the ongoing Budget session in the Maharashtra Assembly, the opposition leaders demanded Munde’s resignation as photos of the gruesome murder of Massajog sarpanch from the Beed district went viral on social media.

Amid the demands for Munde’s removal, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said a mere resignation would not be enough and sought the Fadnavis government’s dismissal.

He claimed that the law and order in Maharashtra had deteriorated and rapes and murders had risen to the extent that no one was feeling safe in the state.

“We have seen photos of the accused and how they brutally killed Santosh Deshmukh. The accused should be publicly hanged,” Aaditya Thackeray was quoted as saying by India Today.