Gore, who represents the Man assembly constituency in western Maharashtra's Satara district, is Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Jaykumar Gore. Pic/X
Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Wednesday demanded the resignation of BJP minister Jaykumar Gore over allegations of harassing a woman and sending objectionable photos to her, while he dismissed the charges and asserted that he was already acquitted by the court, reported news agency PTI.
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Gore, who represents the Man assembly constituency in western Maharashtra's Satara district, is Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Gore was earlier with the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, reported PTI.
In January 2017, he had been arrested for sending lewd messages and his own objectionable photos to a woman in Satara.
Amid the allegations against him, Gore warned of moving a notice of breach of privilege against those who raised the issue again, and said he would also file a defamation complaint against them, reported PTI.
The demand for his resignation came a day after NCP leader Dhananjay Munde stepped down as a minister in the wake of the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in an extortion case linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed in December last year.
Opposition parties targeted Gore over the allegations and sought his resignation, reported PTI.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed, "A very serious issue of Jaykumar Gore has come to the fore. What happened in Swargate (incident of rape inside a bus in Pune), a similar case has come to the fore with regards to Devendra Fadnavis's dear minister Jaykumar Gore," reported PTI.
"A woman from Maratha general Hambirrao Mohite's family has sexually harassed her. The woman will sit on a fast outside the Vidhan Bhavan premises," he added, reported PTI.
Hambirrao Mohite was the chief commander of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army.
"The details about Gore are shocking and bringing a bad name to the state...Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should check the credentials of his ministers," Raut said, reported PTI.
'Saamana', the mouthpiece of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, also published a news item claiming that Gore sent objectionable photos to the woman.
Without naming Gore, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, "The opposition will seek the resignation of a minister from western Maharashtra who is accused of sending his own objectionable pictures to a woman."
Social activist Anjali Damania sought the removal of Gore from the cabinet in the wake of the allegations.
Talking to reporters, she said, "I have come to know that Gore has been harassing the woman who belongs to the family of Hambirrao Mohite."
Gore was accused of sending lewd messages and his own objectionable photos to the woman in 2017.
"After becoming a minister, Gore has once again started harassing the woman. Such people should be removed from the cabinet. The woman is going to write to the Governor of the state. I will go with her and will insist that such people should be removed from the cabinet," Damania said, reported PTI.
Talking to reporters, Gore said that a case under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (molestation) was registered against him in 2017, but the trial court had acquitted him in 2019.
The court had also ordered that the seized material be destroyed, he said.
"The case is six years old and politicians should keep in mind what they say. I will move a notice of breach of privilege against those who are levelling allegations against me, and also file a complaint of defamation against them," Gore said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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