A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against 42 persons including organizers of a public gathering at BJP leader Pankaja Munde's office at Worli in Central Mumbai on Tuesday for the violation of COVID-19-related restrictions, Mumbai Police officials told news agency ANI.
A case was registered under IPC sections 188 (disobedience of lawful order issued by a public servant) and 269 (act likely to spread infection) besides the Disaster Management Act against the organizers and participants of the gathering, an official told PTI.
Addressing her supporters, Pankaja Munde, BJP national secretary, and a former state minister, dismissed reports that she was using "pressure tactics", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda were her leaders.
Munde said, "I reject everyone's resignation. Did I ask you to resign? No. I don't want people to sacrifice for me. I don't want to get into this 'dharmayuddha'." She also said that she was happy that Dr Bhagwat Karad, from her Beed community, was given a ministerial berth.
Reiterating that neither Pritam nor she desired a ministerial berth, Munde said, "Munde sahib (Gopinath Munde) always gave higher posts to people from society's lower sections. He didn't bring Pritam and me into politics to become ministers. When he passed away, Maharashtra BJP offered me a minister post but I refused. Pritam and I have no desire for it." She further added that she spoke with her supporters today because they had resigned even after she had clarified that she was not upset with the decision of the central leadership.
"I work at the national level. My leaders are Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and JP Nadda. I spoke to my workers today because many of our people had offered resignations as they were of the belief that we get a berth in the recent cabinet expansion," Munde said.
Pankaja is the daughter of late Gopinath Munde, the BJP stalwart from the Vanjari community who was a union minister and also a former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Pankaja Munde had held a press conference after the revamp of PM Modi's Cabinet too and had rubbished the reports of being upset with the party over her sister Pritam Munde Khade not getting a ministerial berth.
(With inputs from Agencies)
