Suspend MLA Awhad: Maha BJP chief tells NCP

PUNE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded that NCP suspend party MLA and former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad against whom a case of molestation was registered by police on the complaint of a woman in Thane district.

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule also said that cases against Awhad, including the disruption of the screening of a Marathi movie in Thane, were based on CCTV footage and videos.

''See the video (of the incident ). Leave aside the MLA wanting to resign, if there is any morality left in the NCP, they should suspend Awhad from the party. A few days ago, some remarks were passed against Supriya Sule (allegedly by a minister in the Eknath Shinde cabinet). Nobody supported those remarks but in this case, see the video,'' Bawankule told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Awhad had said he would resign as MLA in view of ''fake'' cases registered against him and denied the charge levelled by the complainant woman. The Mumbra police registered a case after midnight on Monday against Awhad under Indian Penal Code section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).

''Now, (Awhad's colleague and NCP leader) Dilip Walse Patil is not state home minister. It is (deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who is very sensitive (to such issues),'' the state BJP president said.

Taking a dig at former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, he said that soon just four people will be left in Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

He said it was sad how the Shiv Sena (UBT) treated veteran Lok Sabha MP Gajanan Kirtikar, who worked hard to spread the party's wings in the Vidarbha region, and who joined the Shinde faction recently.

''Now, only one thing is left and that is the photocopy of the Congress' constitution should be attached to the proceeding (documentation) of the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s registration process,'' Bawankule said.

He alleged Thackeray's ''conscience got corrupted'' after coming under the influence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

The state's development got adversely affected (under the Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP) as Thackeray was only concerned about his and his son's (Aaditya Thackeray) chairs, he alleged.

Slamming the Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', he said the energy that is generally seen among workers for such an event being helmed by a national leader is missing.

''Barring 400 to 800 party workers who have been given the responsibility to stay with the yatra since the start (from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7), there are no other party workers. Local Congress leaders can be seen hijacking the yatra and launching their children,'' the BJP leader claimed.

Queried on the opposition's speculation of mid-term polls in the state soon, Bawankule said, ''We have a majority of 164 MLAs (in the Assembly) and if someone challenges us to prove the majority, we will have 184 MLAs backing us''.

He added the NCP cannot live without power, alleging the party's ''main policy was money out of power and power out of money''.

Speaking about the BJP's mass outreach programme, Bawankule said there are 350 communities in the state and he had so far met 68 of them.