Munde demands fresh polls in Maharashtra

Nagpur, Dec 22 (UNI) BJP General Secretary Gopinath Munde has demanded that the incumbent Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra be dismissed and that fresh elections be held in the state.

Speaking to newsmen here yesterday against the backdrop of state Revenue Minister Narayan Rane's outburst about the functioning of the state government, Mr Munde said mere change in the leadership in the state would not suffice. Mr Rane's statements were evidence that even the functionaries of the Congress itself had no confidence in the leadership of Vilasrao Deshmukh, he said.

The statements by the Revenue Minister had also brought to the fore a rift in the DF government, he said.

''It is not important as to who is fighting whom, and who becomes chief minister. What is important is whether the DF government has been able to solve the ordinary man's problems in the seven years of its rule. On this count, it has failed miserably,'' he said.

State BJP unit President Nitin Gadkari also lashed out at the DF government, saying during its rule, the debt burden on the state had increased to Rs 1,47,000 crore. The government had failed to curb suicides by debt-ridden farmers, he added.

Mr Rane quit the Shiv Sena two-and-a-half years ago to join the Congress and became the Revenue Minister. He has also been instrumental in securing the resignation of eight Shiv Sena MLAs and a MP. He succeeded in getting seven MLAs elected as Congress candidates. Despite all this, Mr Deshmukh continues to be firmly in the saddle and recently completed three years of his second tenure in office.

UNI