Palghar, Correspondent
In a major political development in Dahanu taluka, Kashinath Choudhary — an accused in the 2020 Palghar sadhu lynching case and a former senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with more than 4,000 supporters.
Choudhary’s induction into the BJP has sparked sharp criticism from the opposition, which has questioned whether the party has abandoned the moral stand it once took regarding the incident.
On 16 April 2020, two sadhus and their driver were travelling by car when they were beaten to death by a mob in Palghar. At the time, Choudhary was an NCP leader and a member of the Palghar Zilla Parishad.
The BJP had strongly attacked the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government over the lynching and had also accused Choudhary of being a key conspirator in the case. However, the same Choudhary has now been welcomed into the party.
Although Choudhary’s entry is expected to strengthen the BJP’s organisational presence in the region, it has triggered internal discomfort and widespread criticism — not only from opposition parties but also from within the BJP ranks.
000
