Vijay Wadettiwar claims BJP minister behind backward class panel head’s exit

On Thursday, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, asserted that a minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Vidarbha had allegedly insulted Justice Anand Nirgude (retired). Consequently, Justice Nirgude decided to resign from the position of the chairman of the state Backward Class Commission.

Earlier, Congress leader Wadettiwar on Tuesday alleged that members of the state Backward Class Commission were being threatened and forced to resign. Vijay Wadettiwar further disclosed that the former judge, Nirgude, tendered his resignation as the chairman of the panel on December 4, and the government officially accepted his resignation on December 9.

In an informal chat with reporters on Thursday in Nagpur, where the state legislature’s winter session is currently underway, Wadettiwar said, A BJP minister from Vidarbha first greeted Nirgude and suggested to him to include a community into the backward class (category). Nirgude expressed his inability to carry out his instructions. The minister used highly insulting and defamatory words against him. Nirgude left the place immediately and submitted his resignation, he claimed.

When pressed to disclose the name of the minister allegedly involved, Wadettiwar provided a cryptic response in Hindi, stating, Har war, war nahi hota. I am Wadettiwar." When asked specifically about whether he was alluding to state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, the Congress leader avoided a direct answer and did not explicitly deny the connection.