Sharad Pawar's remarks came amid demands that Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resign after his close aide was held in a case that has made national headlines

Munde, MLA from Parli in Beed, is under fire from the opposition and some Mahayuti colleagues after close aide Walmik Karad was held in an extortion case linked to the abduction and brutal murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Massajog in Beed on December 9

"Anyone with self-respect would have quit," Pawar said even as Munde has dug in his heels claiming he has no link to the Massajog case

Pawar also slammed Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe for her "Mercedes for posts" corruption jibe aimed at Uddhav Thackeray

Gorhe, the deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, claimed on Saturday that posts in the undivided Sena were obtained through corrupt means, including gifting of Mercedes cars

The comments, made at the prestigious 98th All India Marathi Literary Meet in Delhi, has drawn sharp criticism from Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which came into existence following a split in the original Shiv Sena in 2022