BJP leaders pay tributes to Gopinath Munde on second death anniversary

Rich tributes were on Friday paid to the former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde on his second death anniversary in Mumbai.

The BJP leader died in a road accident in Delhi two years ago.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari pays floral tribute to Late Gopinath Munde on his second death anniversary at party headquarters. Pic/PTI

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the BJP-Shiv Sena combine could come to power in the state for the first time in 1995 due to the mobilisation of masses by Munde.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari pays floral tribute to Late Gopinath Munde on his second death anniversary at party headquarters. Pic/PTI

"Gopinath Munde played a very big role in the development of BJP in Maharashtra. He undertook a mass mobilisation programme of 'Sangharsh Yatra' because of which the BJP-Shiv Sena could come to power," he said.

Gadkari also said it was Munde's dream to rid farmers of economic problems and making their lives better would be a true tribute to him.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pays tribute to Late Gopinath Munde on his second death anniversary at BJP headquarters. Pic/PTI

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described him as a leader of the backward classes, who throughout his life worked for their upliftment. "Gopinath Munde was truly a leader of the backward classes. He could understand their difficulties well because he himself came up by working at the grassroot level," Fadnavis said, paying homage to the departed leader at the BJP office.

At the time of his death, 64-year-old Munde, an MP from Beed in Maharashtra, was Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation in the newly elected Narendra Modi-led Government.