Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Pankaja Munde are unhappy over her sister Pritam Munde Khade not getting a ministerial berth in the recent Cabinet expansion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Miffed over not being accommodated in the Cabinet, 100 BJP workers from Beed and 50 workers from Ahmadnagar had resigned. Pankaja Munde had called a meeting of her close associates and loyalists in Mumbai on Tuesday. She said, “She never demanded anything from anyone. People have given to her. We are grateful to people for their love and support. It is not the culture of late Munde saheb to resign if we do not get ministerial berth. I am not greedy for power.”
Pankaja Munde said that her father, the late Gopinath Munde, worked his entire life to bring all downtrodden people in mainstream politics. He brought Pankaja Munde to politics not to make her a minister or get any positions; not for the family too. “We are here to help people.”
Reiterating that neither Pritam nor she desired a ministerial berth, Munde said, “Munde saheb (Gopinath Munde) always gave higher posts to people from society’s lower sections. He didn’t bring Pritam and me into politics to become ministers. When he passed away, Maharashtra BJP offered me a minister’s post, but I refused. Pritam and I have no desire for it.”
Pankaja Munde had met PM Narendra Modi and party chief J.P. Nadda on Sunday in Delhi. She said in her meeting with the PM, they discussed only about party issue. “I only conveyed that supporters are angry and resigned; however, Modiji told me to convince supporters not to resign. It was a good meeting. No one slammed me in Delhi.” Pankaja Munde refuted reports that in PM’s meeting in Delhi, she was insulted.
Pankaja Munde said: “Big leaders always sacrifice. The party has given me enough respect.” Pankaja said that her leaders are PM Modi, Amit Shah and Nadda. “I do not want to do pressure politics,” Pankaja added.