Mumbai: Breaking her silence over switching over her loyalties to Congress, BJP leader Pankaja Munde denied the media reports on meeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Addressing the media in Satara of Maharashtra on Friday, she said that she never saw Rahul or Sonia Gandhi in person and never spoke to the leader of any party. She threatened to file a defamation case against a TV channel for telecasting the false news.
Pankja Munde said, "A few days ago news was reported stating I met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and I am likely to desert BJP and join Congress. Such news reports are false and baseless. I have never spoken with any party leader regarding my entry into their party. I have never seen Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi in person. I will file a defamation case against the channel," Pankaja Munde warned.
The report comes at a time when Maharashtra is witnessing political turmoil after Ajit Pawar joined the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP coalition government. Pankaja said that after the 2019 Assembly polls, some were awarded Rajya Sabha and state Legislative Council seats. “At least twice I was told to keep the form ready. But at the last minute, I was denied the seat, but I never questioned,” she pointed out.
She further stated that she had inherited politics from her father, the late Gopinath Munde and that they were inspired by the politics and ideologies of Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s party. It may be recalled that Pankaja repeatedly made public her disappointment with being sidelined by the state BJP.
