Rupali Chakankar resigns as NCP women’s wing chief amid row over rape-accused ‘godman’
NCP leader Rupali Chakankar resigned as president of the party’s women’s wing following mounting pressure over her alleged links with self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, arrested for sexual offences.
Mumbai: NCP leader Rupali Chakankar, who was embroiled in the self-styled godman Captain Ashok Kharat controversy, on Friday finally resigned from her post as the President of the Maharashtra NCP women’s wing.
She has forwarded her resignation to the NCP national president and state Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.
Chakankar, amid demand from the opposition, had resigned on March 20 as the chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission but did not step down as the state NCP women’s wing president.
In her post on X, Chakankar said, “I have made my position clear on the first day itself regarding the Kharat case. There is no remote connection between his financial transactions and his misconduct; even today, my stance remains the same—clear and firm. All these matters will certainly be resolved during the investigation. The false, untrue allegations being made through the media without any evidence are painful. The truth will surely be established with full force. I have already made the demand to the Hon. Chief Minister, Hon. Deputy Chief Minister, and Hon. Director General of Police that this investigation should be conducted transparently and impartially. Following my discussion this morning over the phone with the respected Sunetra Pawar, I am resigning from my position as the President of the Nationalist Congress Party Women’s Wing.”
Chakankar has been targeted by the Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and also from within the NCP over her alleged links with the fraud godman Ashok Kharat, who was arrested on March 18 and is being questioned by the government-appointed Special Investigation Team in connection with eight different offences against him in connection with rapes, molestation and excesses against women, among others.
Following directives from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to step down immediately, Chakankar last Friday met with Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar at the latter’s official residence, ‘Devgiri.’ Shortly after this meeting, she officially submitted her resignation as the chairperson of Maharashtra State Women’s Commission.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had summoned Rupali Chakankar to his official residence, ‘Varsha,’ for a discussion. During this meeting, the Chief Minister instructed her to tender her resignation with immediate effect. Her resignation was later accepted by the chief minister.
The directions were issued two days after the arrest of self-proclaimed godman Captain Ashok Kharat from Nasik in north Maharashtra, over the allegations of sexual harassment and rape. Chakankar was a trustee on Shri Shivnika Sansthan of Sinnar in Nasik district, of which Kharat is the president.
CM’s directives came after intense backlash after a video surfaced showing her in a compromisingly respectful position (washing the feet) of the accused, Ashok Kharat.
The pressure for her resignation stemmed from her alleged proximity to Ashok Kharat, a self-styled godman and “numerologist” from Nashik. Last Friday evening, she posted a letter written to Maharashtra DGP Sadanand Date, where the commission directed DGP to conduct a ‘thorough, time-bound and impartial’ investigation into the case.
She also informed Date that the commission was keeping an eye on the investigation, and he should inform the Nasik police commissioner about the progress of the investigation.
Chakankar found herself embroiled in a controversy after the police also confiscated the pen drive, which has at least 58 video recordings of private moments of various individuals.