BackGopinath Munde cremated; supporters seek CBI inquiry
BJP leader cremated in hometown Parli; supporters hurl stones at CM Prithviraj Chavan's car
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Parli/Mumbai, Maharashtra: Tens of thousands of supporters and distraught family members today bid a tearful farewell to Gopinath Munde, Maharashtra BJP’s tallest mass leader and architect of its impressive victory in Lok Sabha elections, who was killed in a car crash in Delhi on Tuesday. However, crowds gathered for the funeral of the rural development minister turned violent as they demanded a Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) inquiry into his death.
Roars of “Gopinath Munde amar rahe" and “Munde Saheb parat ya" (Munde Sir, come again) went up as daughter Pankaja lit the funeral pyre standing amidst a sea of humanity at the departed leader’s home town in the backward Marathwada region.
The crowds, who had collected in Munde’s hometown of Parli, stoned Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s car and surrounded the cars of several other state ministers, including public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal, home minister R.R. Patil, rural development minister Jayant Patil and cooperative affairs minister Harshvardhan Patil.
The crowds also vented their anger at National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athavale. The NDA is led by Munde’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Police charged the crowds with sticks in a bid to restore order at the funeral ground.
Thackeray told repoters, “Taking public sentiments into consideration, government should immediately order a CBI inquiry."
Munde died in hospital in Delhi on Tuesday morning after his car was hit by a speeding car while he was on his way to the airport to fly to Mumbai. Munde was meant to lead the BJP’s campaign for Maharashtra state elections later this year.
PTI contributed to this story.
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