Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde on Tuesday said her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde should have resigned earlier and found a dignified way out of the situation that arose after the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

The BJP minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur.

Dhananjay Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister, resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Beed sarpanch murder case.

Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, last year, allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in the district.

The opposition doubled down on its demand for Ms Munde’s resignation after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder.

“I welcome the resignation. He (Dhananjay Munde) should have resigned earlier, it would have been better that way. He would have found a dignified way out of all this suffering,” Pankaja Munde said.

She further said that she was unaware of the statement her cousin made and added that no person wants their family member to go through this type of suffering.

“When we take up a post, we should think of every person of the state as equal. The decision to resign is nothing compared to the pain and suffering of the Deshmukh family. He (Dhananjay Munde) has made the right decision. Better late than never,” the minister said.