Rupali Chakankar Quits NCP Women’s Wing Post
Resignation comes amid row over links to rape-accused godman Ashok Kharat
- Rupali Chakankar resigns as NCP women’s wing chief
- Move follows controversy over links to Ashok Kharat
- Chakankar denies any involvement in alleged wrongdoing
- Kharat faces multiple FIRs over rape allegations
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 28th March: Under mounting criticism over her alleged association with rape-accused self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rupali Chakankar on Friday resigned as the Maharashtra president of the party’s women’s wing.
Chakankar announced her decision in a post on X, stating that she had spoken to NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar before stepping down.
“Following a discussion over the phone… I am tendering my resignation as state president of the Nationalist Congress Party’s women’s wing,” she said.
Earlier, Chakankar had also resigned as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women after her alleged links to Kharat surfaced.
In her statement, she maintained that she had clarified her position from the outset, asserting that she had no direct or indirect involvement in Kharat’s financial dealings or alleged crimes. She reiterated that her stand remains firm and expressed confidence that the truth would emerge during the investigation.
Calling the allegations against her “painful” and without evidence, Chakankar said that facts would eventually come to light.
Kharat, who headed a temple trust in Mirgaon in Nashik district, was arrested on March 18 following allegations by a woman that he raped her repeatedly over a span of three years. Since then, at least eight FIRs have been registered against him.
Chakankar was previously associated with the temple trust linked to Kharat, which has now come under scrutiny as investigations continue.
