Maharashtra minister linked to woman's death resigns

Maharashtra minister Sanjay Rathod, facing flak from the BJP over a woman's death in Pune, on Sunday resigned from the state cabinet, a day before the state legislature's budget session starts here.

Shortly after Rathod announced that he had submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the latter said the resignation has been accepted.

Thackeray also heads the Shiv Sena, the party to which Rathod belongs.

''There has been a lot of dirty politics over the issue of the woman's death,'' Rathod (49) told reporters, adding he has quit the ministry so that the truth can come out.

The four-term MLA, who held the forest portfolio, was facing allegations of complicity in the death of Puja Chavan (23), a resident of Beed district, who was found dead in Pune on February 8, apparently after falling off from the building in which she lived.

Talking to reporters after meeting the chief minister at his official residence Varsha, Rathod said he had resigned to facilitate a free and fair probe.

''Attempts were made to tarnish my image and destroy my reputation I had built after 30 years of social work. I was saying that let the probe happen before taking any decision.

But the opposition threatened to disrupt the budget session,'' Rathod said.

The BJP has accused Rathod of having links with the woman after his purported photographs,audio and video clips with her went viral on social media.

Slamming BJP leaders for targeting Rathod, Thackeray termed them hypocrite.

Addressing a Press conference on the eve of the budget session, Thackeraysaid the BJP was attempting to influence the probe in the death of the woman.

Rathod quit on moral grounds as the BJP threatened it won't not allow the session proceedings till the minister resigns, Thackeray said.

''You cannot influence a probe to save or implicate anyone. Whatever was happening was dirty politics. I have already told the police to complete the probe in a time-bound manner. How can an FIR be filed against the minister just because the BJP is saying so,'' he said.

Thackeray said the woman's parents and sister met him earlier in the day and expressed full faith in the police to probe the case.

They also handed over a letter which said that Rathod who is a tall leader of the Banjara community shouldn't be maligned based on mere suspicion, he said.

Thackeray said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who headed the police as state home minister and chief minister, does not trust the men in khaki.

Asked if he had accepted Rathod's resignation, Thackeray shot back, ''What am I expected to do? Frame the resignation letter on a wall?'' Thackeray said the forest department will be handled by him and questions related to the department during the session will be dealt with by him or the minister of state for forest.

The chief minister also slammed Fadnavis for claiming corruption in COVID-19 management in the state.

''I pity him. The Dharavi pattern has been praised the world over. Don't see it as success of the state government but the hard work of the Covid warriors. For photo ops, these people felicitate Covid warriors every day and then level such allegations.Maharashtra has done a commendable job in setting up Covid care centres and field hospitals during the last one year, '' Thackeray said.

Thackeray also hit out at Fadnavis for the latter's claim of his not paying homage to Veer Savarkar as he was desperate to cling on to power.

''Fadnavisdoesn't know whether it was Savarkar's birth anniversay or death anniversary,'' Thackeray said in reference to Fadnavis' remark that Thackeray did not pay homage to Savarkar on his birth anniversary.

February 26 was Savarkar's death anniversary.

Lashing out at Fadnavis for saying he (Thackeray) will go down in history as a leader desperate to stay in power, the chief ministersaid the BJP will also go down in history for spreading falsehood to get power and sell off the country's assets.

Thackeray said the Central government is yet to give more over Rs 29,000 crore GST refund and Rs 4720 crore flood relief funds to Maharashtra.