From The Week Correspondent
After the resignation of food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is now under pressure to sack agricultural minister Manik Kokate.
Amid growing demand that Dhananjay Munde should be made a co-accused in the murder case of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, the state government has gone on a back foot, thanks to Munde and Kokate, both ministers from Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
After the pictures of Santosh Deshmukh went viral, a shockwave spread across the state as one of the images contained a picture of one of the accused urinating on Santosh Deshmukh’s body.
This and other accusations that the meeting regarding the monies to be paid to Walmik Karad took place at Satpuda, the government residence of Dhananjay Munde, the agricultural minister in the previous government. Hence there is pressure on Fadnavis to make Munde co-accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.
On the other hand, opposition benches are also targeting Fadnavis government to sack agricultural minister Manikrao Kokate. They have taken a firm stand that how can a person who has cheated the government continue to be a minister.
Meanwhile, a Nashik district court on Wednesday stayed the sentence given by a lower court in the case against Kokate.
Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut questioned whether the Fadnavis government was being ethical by not taking action against Kokate when it has been proved that he had cheated the government by taking a flat under the chief minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota.
