Mumbai: The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is under intense pressure from the Opposition to act against the state agriculture minister, NCP’s Manikrao Kokate, who was filmed allegedly playing online rummy in the state assembly and has made several controversial remarks in the past few months. His latest remark was perceived as an indirect taunt at party chief Ajit Pawar.
So far, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has chosen to ignore a string of controversial statements made by Kokate since he became minister last December, and stay largely silent on the latest rummy allegation.
Two senior NCP leaders who did not wish to be named said party leaders are hoping Ajit Pawar takes some action against Kokate this time.
“His statements are becoming a liability. He may not be dropped, but CM Devendra Fadnavis in consultation with Ajit dada (Ajit Pawar) may decide to change his department,” one of the two leaders said.
Meanwhile, NCP state president Sunil Tatkare Wednesday told reporters, “Ajit dada (Ajit Pawar) is the head of this party. He will speak with Kokate or take a stand on the issue.”
Tatkare refused to elaborate, saying he has neither spoken to Kokate nor has he had any internal discussion about the issue within the party.
He simply added, “It is a responsibility of all of us to ensure what we say is appropriate.”
Kokate had held a press conference on Tuesday where he denied playing rummy in the house and warned political leaders sharing his video of legal action.
However, while he tried to put out one fire, he started another by using the word “beggar” while talking about the state of Maharashtra government’s finances. He made the comments while trying to clarify one of his previous controversial comments where he had used the word “beggar” in relation to farmers, saying even a beggar does not take Re 1 as alms, but here, the state is giving crop insurance at Re 1.
“Using such a word to describe Maharashtra’s finances when your own party’s leader is finance minister is unacceptable. It doesn’t reflect well on the party. That’s why this time, there’s a talk in the party that there could be action,” the second NCP leader who did not wish to be named said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, CM Devendra Fadnavis had also condemned Kokate’s “beggar” remark.
The next day, Rohit Pawar, MLA from the rival Sharad Pawar-led NCP, suggested that Ajit Pawar take charge of Kokate’s agriculture department.
“Ajit dada had also stepped down as minister when allegations were made against him. As head of the party, he should show the same morality for his party colleagues. RR Aaba (former minister RR Patil) had also stepped down because of a simple utterance of a few words in Hindi that came out as very wrong at the time,” Rohit, who is Ajit’s nephew, told reporters.
Ajit Pawar, who was deputy CM in the Prithviraj Chavan-led government of the Congress and the undivided NCP, had stepped down after allegations of corruption in the irrigation department in 2012. RR Patil, who was home minister, resigned after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks because of his comment, “Bade bade sheheron mein choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain” (small things keep happening in big cities).
In a separate incident earlier this week, deputy CM Pawar directed his party’s youth wing president Suraj Chavan to resign from his post following his involvement in an alleged assault. Chavan was allegedly involved in an altercation with activists of the Chhava Sanghatana, who had disrupted Tatkare’s press conference in Latur to demand Kokate’s resignation.
Counter to Bhujbal
Ever since he joined the cabinet in December last year, Kokate has often made comments that have created controversies for the Mahayuti government and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, right from blaming onion farmers for the low prices of their produce to indirectly stating there’s corruption in the crop insurance scheme. He has also made comments blaming the state’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme for straining the coffers.
Kokate, who has had a history of party hopping, was one of the first MLAs to follow Ajit Pawar when he walked out of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Being a Maratha from Nashik district, and a leader who has in the past locked horns with party colleague Chhagan Bhujbal, Kokate’s presence in the cabinet serves as a counter force to Bhujbal, a heavyweight leader from the Other Backward Community (OBC). Bhujbal was initially dropped from the Mahayuti 2.0 cabinet. He was, however, accommodated this May to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dhananjay Munde as food and civil supplies minister.
“Kokate and Bhujbal are known to be political foes, and his presence in the cabinet is more to keep Bhujbal’s power in check. Moreover, while Bhujbal leads the OBC community, Kokate can help retain the Marathas in Nashik, which will be important from the point of view of the upcoming local body elections,” said Nitin Birmal, associate professor at the Dr. Ambedkar Art & Commerce College.
Ajit Pawar has had friction with Bhujbal in the past.
The NCP is unlikely to drop Kokate outright from the cabinet as it would be the party’s second casualty.
Munde had to resign in March after his close aide was arrested for the murder of a sarpanch in his home district of Beed.
“The allegations against Munde were serious with his very close aide being investigated for a gruesome crime. In comparison, the objections against Manikrao Kokate are more to do with his comments, and these tend to tide over. That’s what Ajit Pawar is hoping will happen,” Birmal said.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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