Mumbai | Correspondent
After Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate threatened to take legal action against opposition leaders who accused him of playing rummy on his mobile phone during a legislative session, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar has issued a strong rebuttal. In a lengthy social media post, Pawar accused Minister Kokate of "blatant lying" and demanded a fair investigation into the matter.
Refuting Kokate’s claim that the House had been adjourned when the alleged incident occurred, Pawar wrote, “The Minister’s claim that the session had ended is an outright lie. In fact, an important discussion was underway regarding providing milch animals to tribal communities that have been historically left out of development. But it seems ‘the Patils of deserted villages’ weren’t interested in that debate.”
Pawar sarcastically questioned the credibility of Kokate's defense, saying, “Tell me, which card game ad takes 42 seconds to skip? When a lamp is about to go out, its flame rises — something similar seems to be happening with Kokate saheb.”
He added, “We hoped the Minister would resign today and do a favor to farmers, but instead he’s chosen to fight back with legal threats – ‘even in defeat, he lifts his leg,’ as the saying goes.”
Pawar also criticized Kokate for making desperate attempts to protect his position rather than upholding the dignity of his office. “Had he shown the same enthusiasm in fulfilling his ministerial duties, this situation might never have arisen,” he wrote.
Concluding his post, Pawar said he had refrained from sharing video clips with audio to avoid tarnishing the legislature’s image, but was now compelled to bring the truth to the people’s court due to Kokate's legal threats. He demanded an impartial probe into whether Kokate was indeed playing cards during the session and urged the Minister to resign on moral grounds to ensure a fair investigation.
000
.png)
