In ceasefire, Pankaja Munde invokes Mahabharat

Pankaja Munde addresses her supporters on Tuesday

Senior BJP leader Pankaja Munde has called a ceasefire but vowed to keep on fighting even as she described her struggle within the party as the ‘dharmayuddha' between the Pandavas and Kauravas. On return from Delhi where she met PM Narendra Modi and party chief JP Nadda on July 11, after her MP sister Dr Pritam Munde was denied a berth in the recent cabinet reshuffle, she also asked her supporters to withdraw their resignations that they had tendered to protest the party decision. "Don't take hurried decisions. Don't let a conspiracy of weakening our strength succeed. I don't want to use your resignation. There are no pressure tactics from me," she told hundreds of supporters who had gathered at her Mumbai residence.

Munde said Modi, Amit Shah and Nadda were her leaders and she had not sought anything for her or sister from the party. But she amply suggested that certain leaders, mostly in Maharashtra, had been trying to weaken her.

"The national leaders have never questioned me because they are aware of my struggle. Yesterday's meeting with Modi ji was purely about the organisation. He has always treated me with respect. I told Naddaji why my supporters quit. He told me he was confident that I would convince my people to withdraw the resignations," she said.

Also read: Pankaja Munde attends meeting of BJP national secretaries in Delhi

"[Gopinath] Munde saheb sacrificed a lot. A big leader always sacrifices. I had rejected the offer of a ministerial berth in the Centre," she said, adding that she would never insult (newly inducted minister of state) Dr Bhagwat Karad, who is from "my community".

"The good hearts avoid the dharmayuddha because they don't want people to die. Pandavas did avoid the dharmayuddha. I will try the same as long as I have [your] strength. And let me tell you that there were people who supported Pandavas despite being physically on the Kauravas' side," she said.

Munde resolved to fight fearlessly in the future. "Who will be my Shri Krishna? We were hit by false corruption allegations, split in the family and the untimely loss of the father. As my father has taught me, I don't fear anyone. Let's rest here for the time being but not put a purnaviram [full stop]," she said further, sounding a warning to her detractors.