Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod resigns in Pooja Chavan suicide case
- EP News Service
- Feb 28, 2021
MUMBAI: Maharashtra's forest minister and four-time Shiv Sena
legislator from Digras assembly constituency in the state’s Yavatmal district
Sanjay Rathod today resigned after a meeting with chief minister Uddhav
Thackeray.
Rathod has been linked by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
in connection with the death of TikTok star Pooja Chavan (22) who was a
resident of Parli Vaijanath in Beed district, and had allegedly committed
suicide by jumping off a building on February 8 in Pune’s Hadapsar area.
The woman’s family has not filed any complaint so far with
the police and they have registered a case of accidental death and are treating
the case as that of suicide.
But soon after Chavan's death, several photos and audio
clips surfaced allegedly linking Rathod to her prompting the opposition to
target the CM and his party.
Rathod had a meeting with Thackeray along with his wife at
his official bungalow ‘Varsha’ on Sunday afternoon in presence of environment
minister Aaditya Thackeray, urban development minister Eknath Shinde and
transport minister Anil Parab.
Ever since Rathod's name had cropped up in the case, the BJP
has been constantly mounting pressure on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government
calling for his resignation and had said that they won’t allow the assembly's
budget session to function, so long as he holds the portfolio in the cabinet.
Opposition leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis had said
on Saturday that if Rathod stays as the minister then the BJP MLAs would resign
from the Shakti law committee.
After submitting his resignation Rathod said he has
distanced myself from the controversy and wants a fair probe in the case.
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