Gopinath Munde wanted to quit party: BJP MLC Pandurang Phundkar

Mumbai: The late BJP leader Gopinath Munde had struggled within the party and even wanted to leave it, BJP MLC Pandurang Phundkar on Friday claimed in the Legislative Council here.

"Munde faced struggles at every step. He was (once) about to leave BJP. I opposed it. He faced humiliation many times but dedicated his life to the party," Phundkar said. "Congress had offered him two ministerial posts at the Centre and the state," Phundkar said after a resolution to mark Munde`s contribution was moved in the House by Maharashtra parliamentary affairs minister Harshwardhan Patil. "There is a lot of confusion among people about the circumstances leading to his death. There should be a CBI probe into the matter," said Phundkar, who became emotional while recounting his association with Munde going back to 1974. Phundkar is a former leader of opposition in the legislative council. Council chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh said he was for a high-level probe into Munde`s death. He informed the House that he would write to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan requesting such a probe. Munde, a popular backward class leader from Maharashtra, died due to shock and haemorrhage following injuries to his neck and liver in a road accident in Delhi on June 3.