Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar is facing her first acid test as a politician after two very senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party found themselves at the centre of major controversies, causing embarrassment for the party.
First, it was Rupali Chakankar, who was forced to resign from the post of Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission after her proximity to self-proclaimed godman Ashok Kharat came out in the open. Kharat has been booked in eight cases, including the sexual exploitation of women and the anti-superstition and black magic act.
Chakankar was seen washing Kharat's feet in a video that surfaced. She was also a trustee of a temple trust started by Kharat.
It was expected that Sunetra Pawar would act against her after her role came out in the open, but Pawar did not take any action, and it was left to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ask Chakankar to resign.
After the CM initiated action, Sunetra Pawar had a brief conversation with Rupali Chakankar and asked her to resign from the post of the party's women's wing chief. Late last night, Chakankar sent her resignation letter to Pawar.
The second controversial case has been that of the Tribal Minister and senior NCP leader, Narhari Zirwal. A video of Zirwal in a compromising situation with a transwoman at his official residence surfaced a couple of days ago.
In this case too, Sunetra Pawar did not take immediate action. Chief Minister Fadnavis has now said that the video of Zirwal will be examined for authenticity, and then action will be taken.
Zirwal was earlier in trouble when a clerk in his office at Mantralaya was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau while allegedly accepting a bribe.
How Sunetra Pawar handles these developments will be interesting to watch, as she has to make sure that her party's image does not suffer.
