Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned on Tuesday, submitting his resignation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after one of his close aides was arrested for the murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district in December 2024.
Shortly after stepping down, Munde explained that he also resigned due to health reasons and strongly condemned the brutal killing of the Massajog village head.
Posting on X, he wrote, "From the very first day, I have demanded the strictest punishment for those responsible for the murder of Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district. The disturbing images that surfaced yesterday deeply saddened me."
Munde formally handed over his resignation letter to Fadnavis, who then forwarded it to the Maharashtra Governor for approval. Speaking to the media, Fadnavis confirmed that he had accepted Munde’s resignation and sent it to Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders in the Maharashtra Assembly demanded Munde’s resignation during the ongoing Budget session after graphic images of the sarpanch's murder circulated on social media.
Following his resignation, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said that just stepping down was not enough and called for the dismissal of the Fadnavis government.
"A mere resignation won’t be enough… The government should be dismissed. Law and order in Maharashtra have collapsed—murders, rapes, and crime are increasing, and no one is safe. We have all seen the horrifying photos of how Santosh Deshmukh was brutally killed. The culprits should be publicly hanged," Thackeray said.
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