Mumbai, March 4: NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Tuesday that NCP legislator Dhananjay Munde resigned as Maharashtra Minister on moral grounds.

Deputy CM Pawar had taken a firm stand amid the chorus for Munde’s resignation that the party will take a call after the completion of ongoing investigations by the CID, special investigation team and judicial committee in the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

Deputy CM Pawar remained with Munde through thick and thin, however, after CID named his close associate Walmik Karad as the mastermind in the brutal killing of Santosh Deshmukh, he asked Munde to resign.

However, Munde’s cousin and BJP minister Pankaja Munde from Beed district said that Dhananjay Munde should have resigned much earlier.

“Dhananjay Munde’s resignation has been accepted, it should be welcomed. This resignation should have come much earlier. He should not have taken the oath of office. If he had done so, perhaps we would not have had to face the following things,” she added.

“Had Dhananjay Munde resigned earlier, the dignity could have been maintained. Resignation is nothing compared to the pain of that family (family of deceased sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh),” said Pankaja Munde.

“Some videos related to the killing of Santosh Deshmukh went viral on social media. I saw one of the posts. I did not dare to open that video. Those who killed the sarpanch, they did it inhumanly. They killed him and made a video of him. I do not dare to see the inhumanity that is in them. After the murder of Deshmukh, I first wrote a letter to the Chief Minister and on December 12, I gave my full speech on this. Today, you can see it online. I have expressed my opinion. Now, only the investigation machinery knows who is involved in this and who is not. I have no reason to interfere in it,” she said.

“There has been anger against the manner in which sarpanch was killed,” she said.

She added there is no need to rake up the issue of caste conflict.

Meanwhile, Congress slammed the Mahayuti government, saying that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Pawar have lost the moral right to remain in office and should resign.

“The whole of Maharashtra has been crying since the photos of the brutal killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh went viral. Despite the police and the government having these photos and videos, the government was saving Dhananjay Munde. Due to this act of the government, the dignity of Maharashtra has been brought down. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar have lost the moral right to remain in office. They should immediately step down,” said state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.

Sapkal said the government cannot pat on its back just because Dhananjay Munde has resigned.

“The real question is why the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister did not dismiss Dhananjay Munde. All the photos, videos, and evidence of these inhuman acts were with the police from the beginning, that is, with the Home Minister and the government. Seriously, the government was trying to save Dhananjay Munde for two months despite having complete knowledge of the inhuman acts of this gang of devils. This means that this gang had the support of the government and it was clear that the Santosh Deshmukh murder case was to be suppressed,” he alleged.