Supriya Sule slams Ajit Pawar after he hints at Munde’s return as minister if he gets clean chit

Sharad Pawar-led NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule has criticised a statement made by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar that Dhananjay Munde, who had to resign as the agriculture minister, could be made a cabinet minister again if he gets a clean chit in all cases filed against him.

Speaking to media persons about Dhananjay Munde’s probable re-entry into the Maharashtra cabinet, Sharad Pawar-led NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said, “Valmik Karad was behind the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh of Massjog village. Who exactly was the mastermind? Suresh Dhas has answered that question many times. How can you give a clean chit to him when many families have been destroyed? People’s homes are being destroyed, and you are giving him a clean chit. We will not allow such people to enter the Maharashtra cabinet”.

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Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar hinted at Dhananjay Munde’s likely reinstatement in the cabinet while speaking to media persons.

“You must have read the news about Dhananjay Munde. The high court gave Dhananjay Munde a clean chit regarding the allegations made against him related to the agriculture department. He is not at fault. However, he was defamed. The news of the incident came out in the electronic media, and the news was also shown. The pain that he and his family suffered in these cases cannot be compensated. There is still one more case pending against him — the Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case. The police system is also taking appropriate action in this regard. If he gets a clean chit in this matter, we will give Dhananjay Munde another chance to become a minister,” Ajit Pawar said.

However, reacting to the development, Dhananjay Munde’s estranged wife Karuna Sharma said, “Ajitdada, you are talking about giving Dhananjay Munde a ministerial post again. Along with the murder of Dnyaneshwari Munde’s husband, Mahadev Munde, there are some other cases, like the Santosh Deshmukh murder case, which have come to light in the last six to seven months. They have misused the government administration and created a black economic empire. You have seen this. You have been watching for the last six or seven months. Yet you are talking about giving such a dirty person a ministerial post. You do not see the suffering of the people here”.

“When he (Dhananjay Munde) was a public representative, you should have seen what he did to my children. If you want evidence against that man, I will give it. Give me time, and I will bring everything out. If you keep giving ministerial posts to such a dirty person, then you should give poison to the family of Dnyaneshwari Munde, the family of Santosh Deshmukh, and my family. After that, you can give a ministerial post to Dhananjay Munde,” Dhananjay Munde’s estranged wife Karuna Sharma said.

On Friday, social activist Anjali Damania said that she will fight Dhananjay Munde in the Supreme Court after Munde got relief from the Bombay High Court. Damania also demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must not take Munde back into the cabinet.

Damania made the statement after the Bombay High Court gave relief to former Ajit Pawar-led NCP minister Dhananjay Munde on Thursday evening and ruled that procurements made by the Agriculture Department during Dhananjay Munde’s tenure are in accordance with rules.

The High Court quashed allegations of an alleged scam in the procurement of agricultural materials against Dhananjay Munde. During his tenure as the Agriculture Minister, some petitions were filed claiming irregularities and changes in the agricultural materials procurement policy. It was alleged that the department itself had spent more by discontinuing the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme and purchasing agricultural materials. The petitioners also claimed that some agricultural pumps were purchased at a price higher than the market rate.

However, Anjali Damania said, “I will present what I think are the flaws in it. We will now take this matter to the Supreme Court. The government lawyers told the court that the two government resolutions (GRs) were from different departments. Everything that the lawyers presented is wrong”.

“Corruption was not even mentioned anywhere in these cases. The corruption angle has not been presented anywhere. Due to this, Dhananjay Munde has not been given a clean chit. This entire matter needs to be challenged in the Supreme Court. The report of V Radha, who was the secretary of the department, was never presented, and instead, she was hastily transferred. The secretary told me eight times all that happened,” Anjali Damania said.

Anjali Damania also demanded that Fadnavis should not reinstate Dhananjay Munde to the cabinet. “It is unfortunate for Maharashtra that first Dhananjay Munde and then Manikrao Kokate became agriculture ministers. Due to the wrong presentation of petitioners and government lawyers, everything went wrong,” Anjali Damania said.