Leading a rally of more than 10,000 BJP workers on the opening day of the budget session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Council, Munde addressing the rally at the Azad Maidan on Monday, attacked the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party-led Democratic Front government stating that the state government was protecting mafia and the corrupt. “If the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi could be defeated at polls then Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar stand no where.

The BJP president Nitin Gadkari who also addressed the rally said that Chavan should owe the responsibility for the selection and appointment of sacked Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas and therefore should gracefully submit his resignation from the chief minister’s post.

BJP workers participating in the rally raised slogans demanding the sacking of the “mafia government” in the state. Senior BJP leaders addressing the rally came down heavily on Chavan, Pawar and state home minister R.R. Patil. Glowing tributes were paid to Yeshwant Sonawane, the deceased additional collector of Malegaon Yeshwant Sonawane, who was burned alive by the oil mafia in Nashik two months ago.

Munde said, “The ministers in the Congress-led state government are extending support to the oil and sand mafia. The ministers did not care to wipe off the tears of the widow of Sonawane after he was killed. If the ministers had not canceled the externment of prime accused Popat Shinde, Sonawane would have not been murdered. Therefore, the political leaders are responsible for the death of Sonawane. A case of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) should have also been registered against the state home minister RR Patil,” Munde said. Munde further stated in his speech alleged that the personal assistant of Pawar possessed more than 57 large plots of land in the state. The name of the personal assistant is Kale (black) and his work is also black. “Who does the black money with Kale belong to? The people are not fool not to understand as to whom the money belongs to. Rupees 50,000 crore worth of black money was found with horse trader Hassan Ali. This black money belonged to leaders, industrialists and builders. And the real culprits of this black money should be sent behind bars,” Munde added.