The minister for Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection, Dhananajay Munde, resigned on March 4 after the murder of Beed District Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Santosh was killed by Walmik Kharad, who is a friend of Dhananjay Munde.
Speaking about the murder, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Chitra Wagh said, “It is a painful incident... I couldn't sleep. We are outsiders; just imagine how his family must have been feeling. I believe the guilty should be hanged till death. All those who are involved, directly or indirectly, should be thrown behind bars. CM Devendra Fadnavis is there; that is why the prime accused, Walmik Karad, and other accused are in jail. Devendra ji had said he will spare no one.”
On March 3, the first day of the Maharashtra assembly’s budget session, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) Leader Jitendra Awhad enters the Vidhan Bhavan with handcuffs. He said that he was protesting against the way Indian immigrants are being deported by the US in handcuffs after US President Donald Trump's Migration policy. He also demanded the immediate resignation of minister Dhananjay Munde in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.
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He said, “I don't think the government will take action against Dhananjay Munde. He did not commit the murder. Valmik Karad is the mastermind of Santosh Deshmukh's murder, and he is Dhananjay Munde's good friend. Dhananjay Munde himself has said this. If he is his friend, then Dhananjay Munde should resign.”
The decision was made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on March 3 after the gruesome images of Deshmukh’s killing went viral on social media. On this matter, a high-level meeting was held at the Devgiri Bungalow, the official residence of the Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The meeting was attended by Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis, Sunil Tatkare, and Dhananjay Munde.
According to media reports, Fadnavis conveyed to Munde that he should step down from his ministerial post. The controversy stems from the involvement of Walmik Karad, a close associate of Dhananjay Munde, in Deshmukh’s murder. Karad has been managing Munde’s election campaigns and handling district affairs in his absence for several years. As his name surfaced in the murder case, opposition leaders and the public demanded Munde’s resignation.