Beed should not be defamed because of few persons: Pankaja Munde

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maharashtra's Beed district should not be defamed because of a few persons, minister Pankaja Munde has said, noting the issues related to caste equations were prevalent in parts of the state.

The BJP minister was speaking in Beed on Wednesday at a programme organised by a local newspaper.

Notably, the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, in December last year acquired a caste conflict angle as the deceased was a Maratha, while most of the accused are Vanjari, a dominant community in the Beed region.

In 2023, incidents of vandalism and arson were witnessed in different parts of Beed district during the Maratha quota agitation, with people setting fire to the houses of some legislators.

The residences and properties of then MLAs Prakash Solanke, Sandip Kshirsagar, former minister Jaydatta Kshirsagar and other locations were attacked.

"Beed should not be defamed because of a handful of people. No caste, including mine, should be defamed. We care for each other and we don't take political mileage out of it," said Munde, who hails from Beed.

"The caste equations that are created in the state are not because of Beed district, they were there all across Marathwada. In the reservation agitation, the youth set ablaze the house of Jaydatta Kshirsagar and (his nephew) Yogesh Kshirsagar out of anger. They had also attacked the residence of Vijaysingh Pandit (MLA from Georai in Beed district)," she said.

Prakash Solanke had to lock himself in a bathroom due to the critical situation (at that time), Munde pointed out.

"But this district does not believe in caste (conflicts). This district has elected MPs, MLAs from every community," she said.