'Anguished' Pankaja Munde to take a break, questions NCP's induction

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Friday said she was planning to take a break for "one or two months" as she was anguished at her integrity being questioned time and again.

She said her party would have to answer if she had merit and asserted that only time will tell if she was treated unfairly.

Munde also panned the media for taking some of her statements out of context or misquoting her, adding that she planned to sue one channel which reported on her meeting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

In a swipe, the former Parli MLA also said her party colleagues had worked hard on the campaign to highlight nine years of the Narendra Modi government but were not mustering courage to speak on recent developments in Maharashtra, a reference to the Nationalist Congress Party split and a faction joining the Eknath Shinde government.

The former state minister and daughter of party stalwart late Gopinath Munde said she wanted the BJP's ideology of Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remain as she had grown up on that sentiment.

Addressing a press conference, Munde said post her defeat in the 2019 assembly polls from Parli, her name came up for nomination to the Rajya Sabha and two times for the Maharashtra legislative council but she was asked to not go ahead at the last moment.

"I have never commented on this in public and have obeyed the party directive. i have never worked against the party's interest. Where is politics going...nobody is interested in what people think, I am going to introspect," she said.

Speaking about the split in the Shiv Sena (in June last year) and the NCP (on July 2 this year), Munde said, "I am a BJP worker who believes in the ideology of Deendayal Upadhaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I want that ideology to remain as I have grown up with that sentiment."

Munde claimed portions of her speeches were sometimes take out of context and speculations were made on what she had said, because of which she had decided to take a break "not from my work but from you (media)".

Munde said she would sue the media channel that reported that she met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and that a politician from Sangli was playing mediator.

She, however, added she was the (state) in charge of Madhya Pradesh and would answer questions related to the election campaign. assembly polls are slated for the year-end.

Speaking about a tweet of her cousin and Parli MLA Dhananjay Munde, the BJP leader said she did not know why it was uploaded during the day.

Pankaja Munde had met her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde recently, with the latter on Friday tweeting a photograph where the BJP general secretary is seen performing aukshan (lamp-based ritual for someone's well-being).

In the tweet, Dhananjay Munde said she had greeted him for being made minister in the Eknath Shinde government, adding that, "Brother sister relations are strong in happiness and sadness".

Dhananjay Munde had defeated her from Parli in the 2019 assembly polls.

Referring indirectly to the NCP split and a faction joining the state government, she said 105 BJP MLAs worked had on the campaign highlighting nine years of Modi rule, but they did not have the courage to comment on the latest developments.

"I do not indulge in dishonest politics. The party should answer whether I have merit or not. Only time will tell whether I was treated unfairly," she claimed.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis tried to assuage the feelings of his colleague.

He said Pankaja Munde was a senior leader and the party would speak to her on her statement about taking a break and would try to find out what is on her mind.

Speaking about an NCP faction aligning with the BJP and her struggles in the party, Fadnavis said the recent developments may not be "welcomed by everyone all of a sudden" but added that "dialogue is the answer to all and our senior leaders will talk to her".