Varsha Gaikwad demands dismissal of convicted minister Manikrao Kokate

Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday demanded the immediate dismissal of Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate, accusing the Mahayuti government of shielding him despite a sessions court upholding his conviction in a corruption case.

Gaikwad said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s decision to continue in office even after the court confirmed his two-year sentence in a forgery case reflected the “arrogance of power”.

She questioned whether the state government was deliberately ignoring the issue and accused it of applying different standards for opposition leaders and ministers in power.

“Action is taken within 24 hours when opposition leaders like Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Sunil Kedar are convicted. Why is a different yardstick being applied in Kokate’s case?” Gaikwad asked in an X post.

Alleging that the rule of law was being undermined for political convenience, Gaikwad demanded that the government immediately remove Kokate from the cabinet.

A court in Nashik district on Tuesday upheld the two-year jail term handed to Kokate in a cheating and forgery case of 1995, holding that he “dishonestly induced” the government to allot him a flat meant for the economically weaker section of society.

A magistrate’s court on February 20 convicted the NCP minister and his brother Vijay, and sentenced them to two-year imprisonment in the case concerning the submission of fake documents to obtain flats under the state government quota.

Kokate wasn’t present during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. PTI MR NR