Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigns amid Beed sarpanch murder row

Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Tuesday resigned from the state cabinet and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accepted his resignation His office staff arrived at Sagar Fadnavisrsquos official bungalow on Tuesday morning and handed over the resignation papers to the CMFadnavis speaking to media in the Vidhan Bhavan premises said ldquoMunde has tendered his resignation I have accepted the resignation and forwarded the same to Governor for further actionrdquoWhile demand for Mundersquos resignation was going on for the last couple of months the pressure for the minister stepping down from the government increased on Monday evening as images of how brutally Santosh Deshmukh sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district was murdered circulated on social mediaAjit Pawar said Munde resigned on moral grounds implying the decision was influenced by the controversy surrounding the Beed sarpanch murder caseHowever Dhananjay Munde on the other hand stated that his resignation was due to medical reasons citing health concerns and the advice of his doctorThis discrepancy raises questions about the real reason behind Mundersquos resignationmdashwhether it was purely a healthrelated decision or if political pressure played a role hellipmdash Dhananjay Munde dhananjay_munde March 4 2025UBT leader Aditya Thackeray criticised the Mahayuti government for the delay stating ldquoThis government cannot give justice to its own karyakarta party workerrdquo hellipmdash Aaditya Thackeray AUThackeray March 4 2025Congress MLA Nana Patole while speaking on the development accused the government of protecting the guiltyWATCH Mumbai On resignation of Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde Congress MLA Nana Patole says It took so long for the Government to do this It means that the Government protects the guilty Crime has increased in MaharashtraThere are several such Ministers inhellip pictwittercomzIGCOKR4KXmdash ANI ANI March 4 2025Deshmukh was tortured and murdered in December 2024 The photos and videos circulated on social media are said to be part of the charge sheet submitted by the Crime Investigation Department CID before the Beed courtAccording to the charge sheet filed by the CID Walmik Karad and seven others are said to be the prime accused in the murder of Deshmukh Karad known as a close associate of Munde has raised ethical concernsAlong with Deshmukh family members social activist Anjali Damania Maratha leader Manoj Jarange and Mahayuti leadersndashSuresh Dhas BJP and NCP Ajit Pawar faction MLA Prakash Solanke have been vocal about the murder case and Mundersquos resignation Both Dhas and Solanke are from Beed districtndashthe region which is said to be under tremendous clout of MundeOn March 3 MVA leaders staged a protest against the ruling Mahayuti government demanding the resignation of NCP Ajit Pawar faction minister Dhananjay Munde The state budget session in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan commenced on March 3 and will conclude on March 26On Sunday while addressing the media ahead of the state budget session Fadnavis responded to a query on Mundersquos resignation stating categorically that any decision on the matter would depend on moral considerationsIn fact BJP ally and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has also supported the public outcry and the demand for Mundersquos resignationldquoMunde is not directly involved but his proximity to Karad warrants resignation of the minister on moral groundsrdquo the union minister has been quoted as saying in the media