Mumbai: The controversy surrounding NCP minister Manikrao Kokate refuses to die down, even after he was removed from the agriculture ministry. The state government’s decision to reassign him to the sports and youth welfare portfolio has drawn sharp criticism. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the action against Mr Kokate serves as a warning to other ministers. However, the Congress and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule criticised the CM for not removing Mr Kokate from the cabinet altogether.The minister was caught playing online rummy during a legislative session. He was reassigned from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department on Thursday. Confirming that the decision was driven by public outrage, CM Fadnavis said, “There was considerable anger about the incident. I discussed the matter with deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, and we decided to change Mr. Kokate’s portfolio. He has now been assigned a new department. The agriculture ministry has been handed over to Datta Bhamre (who was earlier the sports minister),” While ruling out further cabinet changes, Mr Fadnavis warned ministers against misconduct. “We’ve made it clear to all. Improper conduct will not be tolerated. Action will be taken. This is a signal to all,” he said. “We are here to serve the people. Our words, behavior, and conduct are all being closely watched. We must uphold a certain decorum,” the CM added. However, the Opposition remains unsatisfied. Ms Sule urged the CM to demand Kokate’s resignation to “restore the state’s dignity.” “At a time when Maharashtra’s agriculture sector is in crisis, it is disturbing to see the agriculture minister playing rummy in the legislature. This raises serious concerns about his sensitivity to farmers’ issues. Instead of taking strong disciplinary action, the government merely reshuffled his portfolio. This is not accountability. The CM should remove a minister, who has even called the government “begar”, from the cabinet,” Ms Sule said. The Lok Sabha member also criticised the decision to assign Mr Kokate the youth welfare portfolio, calling it a “cruel joke”. “At a time when young people are increasingly falling prey to online rummy addiction and there is growing public demand for regulation or a ban, it is ironic that the minister caught playing rummy is now in charge of youth welfare,” she said. Maharashtra Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal also condemned the move, calling the Fadnavis government “shameless and helpless”. Mocking the government’s decision, the Congress leader remarked, “Instead of seeking Mr Kokate’s resignation, they’ve rewarded him with the sports ministry. At this rate, they might even grant Olympic status to Rummy and present him with the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award.”
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