Amid the demand for the ouster of Maharashtra Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod over his name being linked to the death of a 23-year-old woman, the Shiv Sena leader on Sunday tendered his resignation from the post.
“I’ve given my resignation to CM Uddhav Thackeray. The way opposition is warning that they won’t allow Assembly session to function, I’ve distanced myself from it. I want a fair probe in case (in connection with the death of a woman in Pune earlier this month),” Rathod told reporters.
Earlier, the Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had demanded Rathod’s resignation, even as the minister has denied that he had anything to do with her death.
The 23-year-old woman had died after falling from a building on 8 February, and Pune Police had said that they were probing the suicide angle. Some audio clips had gone viral after her death. However, soon after, many audio tapes allegedly linked to TikTok star Pooja Chavan’s death, alluding to the involvement of the state minister, went viral on social media. In one such audio clip, one person is heard making some suggestions to suppress a case. The person also issued instructions in Marathi to take possession of laptops and mobiles phones and the ‘issue’ should not be escalated.
Responding to the Opposition’s demand of a case against the minister, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said an FIR (First Information Report) can’t be registered before investigation.
“Our job is to behave properly and just. But politics has been dirty for the past few days. Investigation has to happen, and we believe it should be fair. But during investigation, destroying someone should not be the aim,” he said at a press conference.
Further, some social media posts claimed that Pooja Chavan was in a relationship with the Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rathod. In Rathod’s defence, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut earlier on Sunday said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will not take any decision under pressure. “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will not take any decision under pressure. To keep anyone in the cabinet or not is the CM’s prerogative,” Raut said.
The Rajya Sabha member also accused Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari of indulging in politics. The BJP has already announced that it would not let the budget session of the state legislature run smoothly if Rathod does not step down before March 1. The session is scheduled to start from Monday.
The BJP had been demanding his resignation from the post. “Minister with serious allegations in Pooja Chavan suicide case should resign! The BJP protested against this by burning a statue of Sanjay Rathore in Beed district,” BJP Maharashtra tweeted last week.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had also hit out at the state government over the death. “There is ample evidence against Sanjay Rathod but nothing is happening. If media reports had not come out, nothing would have happened. Are we heading towards a banana republic? The police are under pressure. First, there has to be an investigation on the police itself,” he said last week.
