State NCP president Jayant Patil strongly supported his colleague and minister Dhananjay Munde saying that the party will not disown a leader from the OBC community as done by the BJP in the past. Patil said let police complete its probe but Munde will not be made to resign merely on charges made by a woman.
By raking up Munde’s caste, Patil has dropped sufficient hints that NCP was determined to change its image as a Maratha dominated party. He has laid down the party’s agenda by reiterating that NCP does not sideline OBC leaders but will remain with them during good and bad times.
Patil told Free Press Journal, “Dhananjay Munde is the leader of the OBC community. The BJP does not stand behind the leaders of the OBC community. However, NCP will stand firmly behind Dhananjay Munde as it has come to the fore that leaders from other parties too made complaints against the same woman of blackmailing. Therefore, NCP will not go merely by the charges levelled by the woman against Munde but wants a thorough probe.’’
“What happened to Eknath Khadse and Chandrashekhar Bawankule in the BJP? The BJP did not stand behind these two OBC leaders (as they were denied assembly tickets). But if Dhananjay Munde is wrong, we will not support him. If he is not to blame in the case, NCP will not act like BJP but will stand strong behind the OBC leader,’’ noted Patil. Patil said Munde has given all the information to the police in this case. “Nothing has been withheld. We expect the police to investigate soon," said the NCP leader.
In a related development, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut attacked BJP for demanding Munde’s resignation saying that the Opposition should understand the reality before pressing for its demand. Raut, who with his family met NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was stable despite BJP levelling several charges against it.
