NCP dissolves Beed unit after taluka chief is booked under MCOCA

MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to dissolve its Beed district unit in the wake of its Kej taluka chief being arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, in the Beed sarpanch murder case.

Vishnu Chate, Kej taluka president, was arrested along with six others for the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district. All nine accused, along with Beed strongman Walmik Karad, were recently charged under the stringent MCOCA.

State NCP president Sunil Tatkare called it a “routine decision” and refused to share details on why the decision was taken. Kej is one of 11 talukas in Beed district and Chate was president of Kej taluka for the last six months.

Rajeshwar Chavan, NCP president of Beed district, said a decision to dissolve the Beed district unit was taken by the party leadership. “The party has decided to make changes in the district unit. There are also several leaders who were in the same position for several years and thus the decision was taken,” he said. When asked about Chate, Chavan told Hindustan Times he was removed from his position soon after he was made an accused in the murder case.

It is believed that around 45 NCP office-bearers from the district have been interrogated by the police owing to Chate’s involvement in the case. As a result, the party leadership decided to reconstitute the unit, to avoid controversy. The case has tainted the image of the NCP as its minister Dhananjay Munde hails from Beed district. He is also the alleged benefactor of Walmik Karad, the alleged mastermind of the murder. The NCP leadership is already under pressure to sack Munde from his ministerial position.

On Tuesday, NCP president Ajit Pawar asked party leaders to be cautious about people in their midst. “We should all be careful about the people around us. We need to keep an eye on who is doing what,” he said.