"Pyaar kiya to darna kya Minister on Munde's rape charge

    Jalna, Jan 14 (PTI) Shiv Sena minister in Maharashtra
Abdul Sattar has sought to defend his NCP cabinet colleague
Dhananjay Munde, accused of rape by a Mumbai-based woman,
saying "pyaar kiya to darna kya.
    Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Sattar
said Munde has himselfdeclared that he had been in a
relationship with the complainants sister and has two
children with her.
    He (Munde) did not hide anything...'pyaar kiya to
darna kya', (why fear if in love)?" the Sena minister said
when asked about the charges against Munde and the BJP's
demand for his resignation.
    Munde, an NCP leader from Beed district, has denied
the rape allegations, claiming he is being blackmailed by the
woman and her sister.
    Munde (45) said the woman's claims were part of a
conspiracy to blackmail him. He, however, acknowledged that he
was in a relationship with the woman's sister and has two
children with her.
    In a statement issued on Tuesday, Munde said his wife,
family and friends were aware of this relationship, adding the
two kids have been accepted by his family.
    Sattar said when senior BJP leader late Gopinath Munde
faced criticism over his relationship with a woman in late
1990s, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had defended the former
deputy chief minister, saying pyaar kiya to darna kya.
    Asked about the charge that Dhananjay Munde did not
disclose personal details in his election affidavit, Sattar
said most leaders do so, including those from the BJP.
    I have suchinformation against BJP leaders and will
expose them at (appropriate) time," said the Sena leader.
    Sattar accused the BJP of working against the Sena
candidate from Jalna in the2019 Assembly polls, leading to
his defeat at the hands of the Congress nominee.
    The BJP and the Shiv Sena had fought the 2019 state
polls together, but parted ways later following differences
over power-sharing.
    The Shiv Sena then joined hands with the NCP and the
Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in November
2019. PTI COR
RSY RSY

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)