Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 16: A political controversy erupted after senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed that late BJP leader Gopinath Munde had once explored the possibility of joining the Congress, drawing a sharp rebuttal from Munde's daughter and Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde.
Chavan said he was aware of developments surrounding the alleged move during his tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister and claimed that several rounds of discussions had taken place between Gopinath Munde and veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
According to Chavan, Munde had sought a position in the Union Cabinet as a condition for joining the Congress. He further claimed that the matter was discussed with then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had given her in-principle approval to the proposal.
However, Chavan said the proposal could not progress as then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not in favour of inducting an Opposition MP into the government by bringing him into the ruling party.
Chavan claimed that Singh opposed the idea of "poaching" an Opposition leader and making him a Union minister, and that his objection ultimately prevented the proposal from moving forward.
The remarks drew a strong response from Pankaja Munde, who dismissed Chavan's claim, saying the statement "had no relevance at this stage".
She also asserted that her father was not a leader who had entered the BJP after switching from another political party.
"The statement made by Prithviraj Chavan no longer holds any significance... As far as I understand my father, he was born into this very 'lotus', the BJP, and he remained in it," Pankaja Munde told reporters.
Pankaja said Gopinath Munde had been deeply associated with the BJP and that describing him as someone who could have been "imported" into the party or moved from one political camp to another was inappropriate.
Gopinath Munde, who was then Union Minister for Rural Development, died in a road accident in New Delhi on June 3, 2014.