Mumbai, Nov 13: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Anil Gote has announced his resignation as member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as well as from the BJP, alleging that "criminals" were being inducted into the party.
Gote, who represents the Dhule Assembly seat in Maharashtra, said on Monday that he will tender his resignation next week.
Last month, another BJP legislator had resigned as member of the state Assembly and from the party.
Gote has been opposing induction of some leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) into the BJP.
"I am going to tender my resignation to the Assembly Speaker on November 19, first day of the state legislature's winter session, and also quit the party," he said.
"Despite my opposition, senior party leaders have been inducting people with criminal background into the BJP ahead of Dhule Municipal Corporation election," Gote said.
If these people get elected, they will "ruin" Dhule city with their corrupt practices, he claimed.
He also said that he will contest the mayoral election in the Dhule civic body next month.
Gote had won the 2009 Assembly election as an Independent and joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 state polls.
He was arrested earlier in connection with the counterfeit stamp paper scam involving kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi, and is now out on bail.
Last month, BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh, a staunch proponent of separate Vidarbha state, had resigned as member of the Assembly and from the party's primary membership.
He was an MLA from Katol constituency in Nagpur district.
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Mangaluru: Record-holder swimmer K Chandrashekhar Rai Surikumeru (52), who was known for performing yoga and somersaults underwater, died of drowning in the Mangaluru City Corporation swimming pool on Sunday.
Rai, who was a native of Surikumeru near Kalladka in Bantwal taluk, lived in Kudroli, Mangaluru. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.
He had been employed as a lifeguard at the swimming pool in Udupi under contract-basis and was working as manager of the MCC swimming pool for three years. He also worked as a lifeguard and swimming trainer.
On Sunday morning, Rai is said to have handed the security guard of the pool his mobile phone, saying he would practice for some time, but shortly after diving into the pool, he died of suffocation.
The post-mortem examination of his body was conducted at the District Wenlock Hospital and the funeral rites were held at his native place, Rai’s brother Radhakrishna Rai has said.
Rai, known for his skills in swimming, had entered the Worldwide Book of Records in 2023 by performing 28 front flip somersaults in a single stretch.