Bank to e-auction sugar mill controlled by BJP leader Pankaja Munde to recover dues

State-owned Union Bank of India has put out a notice for the e-auction of a cooperative sugar mill controlled by the family of BJP national secretary Pankaja Munde to recover dues worth Rs 203.69 crore.

As per a notice published by the bank in local newspapers on Tuesday, the e-auction of the Vaidyanath Cooperative Sugar Factory would be held on January 25. The auction notice mentions the name of Munde and several others persons as ‘’debtors, guarantors and mortgagees’’.

As per the notice, the Ahmednagar regional office of the bank has taken up the process to recover the dues worth Rs 203.69 crore.

In September last year, Munde, who has been sidelined in state politics, confirmed that the mill controlled by her family had received a notice from the Goods & Services Tax (GST) department and claimed that barring this sugar mill, many other factories got financial aid from the Union government.

She said the sugar mill was started by her father, late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, in a difficult situation and she ran it despite hardships.

‘’During the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation became difficult and now the factory is in the bank’s possession,’’ she had said.