"Will Take Political Battlefield Soon": BJP Leader Pankaja Munde

BJP leader Pankaja Munde on Tuesday said the people of Maharashtra had lost the "capacity to face disappointment" and averred that she will not be `sitting at home' but take to the "political battlefield" soon.

Speaking at her annual Dussehra rally at Sawargaon in Beed district, Ms Munde, a former state minister who lost the assembly election in 2019 and did not find berth in the present Shiv Sena-BJP government, touched upon several current issues including drug menace and Maratha reservation.

During her `Shiv Shakti yatra' through the state, she received "overwhelming" response from the people, said Ms Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde.

" People collected Rs 11 crore for me in two days when my sugar mill was raided. I will not take the money but I will take the blessings of the people who contributed," she said.

A sugar factory controlled by Ms Munde was raided by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department for alleged tax evasion earlier this year.

"Are farmers happy today? Do they get crop insurance and (government) aid?" she asked while also raising the issues of sugarcane cutters, many of whom hail from Beed region.

"Sugarcane cutters will not work if their wages are not increased. If I don't get justice for them, I will not show my face at the next Dussehra rally," she said.

"The state is facing many serious problems today. The issue of Maratha reservation is serious. The OBC community has several questions in its mind. Society has expectations, but it has lost the capacity to face disappointment now," said Ms Munde.

As rural development minister earlier, she ensured construction of good roads and offices for gram panchayats, and did not think which community is dominant in a village while addressing its problems, she said.

"Now I will be on the political battlefield to defeat others. I will work to defeat those who are not competent to take the state forward, who are characterless and use money power," the BJP leader said.

Her supporters will no longer observe self-restraint, she warned.

"I constructed a memorial for Gopinath Munde in three months, and the government could not do it in ten years. Now they should not construct it. Instead, they should demolish the walls dividing the communities in the state, dissuade farmers from committing suicide and this will be the (real) memorial of Gopinath Munde," she said.

Ms Munde also expressed concern about the drug menace in the state. "Drugs are being seized everywhere. This is eating up our youth and it is now reaching the village level. Those who are responsible for this should be punished," she said.

BJP MP and Pankaja's sister Pritam Munde also spoke on this occasion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)