‘Rested in lotus’: Pankaja slams claim that father Gopinath Munde wanted to join Congress

Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan made headlines on Saturday by claiming that late BJP leader Gopinath Munde was close to joining the Congress and had requested a ministerial position in the UPA-2 government. However, Munde's daughter and current Maharashtra minister, Pankaja Munde, quickly refuted the allegations, deeming them inappropriate and irrelevant.

She emphasized that discussing such matters post-mortem is neither appropriate nor relevant, as Gopinath Munde is no longer alive. Pankaja reaffirmed her father's lifelong dedication to the BJP, stating that personal conversations post-death should not be politicized. She further explained that her understanding of her father was that he was born in the lotus of life and would rest in the same lotus, concluding his journey.

Chavan, speaking at a press conference in Karad, alleged that the Congress had finalized plans to integrate Munde, who was then the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, into their ranks. He claimed he had facilitated a late-night secret meeting in Delhi involving then-Union MPCC president Manikrao Thakre and senior leader Ahmed Patel, following approval from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Chavan stated that Munde expressed dissatisfaction within the BJP and sought a central Cabinet position, citing the risk of resigning his parliamentary seat and facing a challenging bypoll. He alleged that Munde told him that two leaders from Nagpur in the BJP would prevent him from winning the election. Although Munde ultimately joined the Union Cabinet as the Minister of State for Rural Development in the first Modi government in May 2014, he tragically died in a road accident shortly after taking office.

Chavan admitted that his decision to negotiate the deal directly, bypassing then-Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, was one of his most significant political blunders, as he had not consulted the Prime Minister, which, according to Chavan, amounted to offering a bribe and was thus unacceptable to Singh.