In a major relief, for Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde, who is in the firing line, due to rape allegations levelled against him by a female singer, his party, Nationalist Congress Party, has decided to let him continue in the cabinet post at least for now. , NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday, demanded an ACP-level woman officer to probe into the issue. Yesterday when I commented on Dhananjay Munde issue, I said that the issue was serious but then certain facts were not in the public domain, I came to know that there was a similar complaint against the same lady by different political party leaders," Sharad Pawar said. Sharad Pawar further said the case must first be investigated and the party will think of probable action based on the findings of the probe.
"Let Mumbai Police do its investigation first. We will think of probable action based o whatever comes in the investigation," Sharad Pawar said. Top NCP leaders, including party president Sharad Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil and senior leader Praful Patel, met in Mumbai late Thursday night to discuss the issue. Dhananjay Munde, 45, the social justice minister in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in Maharashtra, has refuted the rape charges and dubbed them as a blackmail attempt. For the unversed, Renu Sharma, a Mumbai based singer, filed a complaint on January 12 against senior NCP minister & Ajit Pawar's close aide - Dhananjay Munde (45), alleging that he had sexually abused her since 2006. The case took another twist when ex-BJP MLA Krishna Hegde alleged that the same woman had been texting him since 2010 till 2015 to set a 'honey trap', seeking a relationship with him. Meanwhile, BJP's Kirit Somaiya has filed a complaint against Munde with the Election Commission of India for non-disclosure and concealment of facts about wives, children and properties. In contrast to that, Leader of Opposition - Devendra Fadnavis has said that 'we must wait for the probe's outcome'. Munde is part of the cabinet of the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government.