Maharashtra minister's video playing online card game on phone in Assembly sparks row
In a post on X, Rohit Pawar quipped that Kokate appeared to have 'time to play rummy' since the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction could not take any decision without the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He added: 'Therefore, when scores of farm issues are pending and every day eight farmers are ending their lives in Maharashtra, the agriculture minister does not seem to have any work.'
Kokate, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, represents the Sinnar seat in the Nashik district.
The faction is part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in the state, which includes the BJP and the Shiv Sena group led by former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
' #जंगली_रमी_पे_आओ_ना_महाराज …!'
सत्तेतल्या राष्ट्रवादी गटाला भाजपला विचारल्याशिवाय काहीच करता येत नाही म्हणूनच शेतीचे असंख्य प्रश्न प्रलंबित असताना, राज्यात रोज ८ शेतकरी आत्महत्या करत असताना सुद्धा काही कामच नसल्याने कृषिमंत्र्यांवर रमी खेळण्याची वेळ येत असावी.
रस्ता भरकटलेल्या… pic.twitter.com/52jz7eTAtq
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) July 20, 2025
Commenting on the row, Kokate claimed that someone else had downloaded the game on his phone, ANI reported.
He claimed that he was merely checking the proceedings of the other House on YouTube and the game popped up while skipping the advertisement during the video.
He also claimed that it was 'a solitaire game, not rummy'.
Kokate added: 'The full video should come out. This is a conspiracy. The Opposition's tactics will never succeed.'
#WATCH | Nashik | On being accused by NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar on 'X' of playing rummy while in the Maharashtra Assembly session, Maharashtra Minister Manikrao Kokate, says, "Rohit Pawar has become addicted to playing rummy. It wasn't rummy, but solitaire on my phone. Some PA or… pic.twitter.com/yO5I4OB2Vj
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2025
Nevertheless, the video drew criticism from across party lines. Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), demanded Kokate's resignation.
'Seven hundred and fifty farmers have committed suicide in three months and the agriculture minister of Maharashtra is playing these games,' India Today quoted her as saying. 'He should resign for this dirty act. Otherwise, the chief minister should remove him.'
Kishori Pednekar from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) said that Kokate had been found 'on the wrong foot' earlier as well and described his behaviour as an 'insult to democracy', The Indian Express reported.
However, BJP leader and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that there was no legal provision under which action could be taken against Kokate, adding that 'at best, he will be warned '.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
a minute ago
- The Hindu
A.P. BJP spokesperson Vinusha Reddy selected for IVLP
BJP State spokesperson Vinusha Reddy has been selected as the Indian delegate for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a professional exchange programme funded by the U.S. Department of State. The IVLP, established in 1940, is a foundational exchange programme designed by the U.S. to introduce emerging global leaders to their American counterparts and to U.S. society and culture. She was officially selected and invited by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi to attend the programme. Ms. Vinusha Reddy made the announcement in the presence of former Rajya Sabha member and senior leader T.G. Venkatesh, Adoni MLA P.V. Pardhasaradhi in Kurnool on Monday. The 2025 IVLP will be held from August 9 to 30 on the theme 'Women in Politics and Civil Society'. Emerging leaders from 20 nations across different regions like Japan, Germany, Poland, Argentina, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Singapore, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon will also attend the programme, which includes civic engagement across multiple cities in the U.S.. Ms. Vinusha Reddy will visit Washington D.C., Boston, Massachusetts, Manchester and Concord, New Hampshire, Columbia, South Carolina, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The programme includes meetings with U.S. policymakers, women leaders, and civil society organisations to discuss initiatives promoting equal pay, fair treatment, and women leadership in political and civic spheres. The IVLP alumni in India include the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Indira Gandhi. 'I am truly humbled to be selected for this global programme. It reflects India's growing leadership in promoting women's participation in governance under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi. I thank the BJP for giving me a platform, mentoring, and offering opportunities at every step since I joined the party. It reflects the way BJP nurtures new voices, especially women leaders, and promotes our global engagement rooted in Indian values,' Ms. Vinusha Reddy said.
The Hindu
a minute ago
- The Hindu
AAP MLA marshalled out during discussion on Operation Sindoor in Delhi Assembly
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha was marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on Monday (August 4, 2025) after he refused to apologise for making objectionable remarks during a discussion on Operation Sindoor. Participating in the discussion on the motion to thank the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the armed forces for Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev, Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood said the two operations represent the new normal in response to terror attacks. "After terrorist attacks, dossiers are not sent any longer; instead, the Army is given a clear order to eliminate the enemy," he said. Mr. Sood said those questioning the two operations should be tried under sedition charges. In his speech, Mr. Jha attacked the Centre for accepting the "ceasefire" during India-Pakistan military conflict and used words that the Speaker directed to be expunged from the records. Speaker Vijender Gupta also asked Mr. Jha to tender an apology to the House. However, as Mr. Jha remained defiant, he was marshalled out on the direction of the Speaker. Mr. Jha hit out at the BJP, saying the decision of 'ceasefire' was made by U.S. President Trump and criticised the central government for accepting it. "Operation Sindoor was an opportunity to teach a lesson to the enemy and take back the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," the AAP MLA from Burari said. The ruling BJP legislators hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev. Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian armed forces to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were massacred. Three of the terrorists involved in the attack were gunned down by the security forces in an encounter under Operation Mahadev at Harwan in Srinagar on July 28.
Hindustan Times
a minute ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi to host NDA parliamentary meet on Tuesday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the BJP-led NDA parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, a get-together of the ruling alliance's MPs which is being held after a considerable gap. The prime minister is also likely to be felicitated by the parliamentary party over his government's military response to the terror strike.(ANI) The NDA meeting comes a couple of days before the filing of nomination for vice president's election begins from August 7. The NDA will have to announce its candidate, whose election will be a certainty due to the alliance's majority in the electoral college, by August 21, the last date of nomination-filing and the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The meeting comes in the middle of a session which has been all but a washout so far, except for a two-day discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, due to a united Opposition's ceaseless protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission. PM Modi is expected to speak on a host of current issues as the Opposition has been raising the heat over the poll body's alleged partisan conduct favouring the government, and the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The prime minister is also likely to be felicitated by the parliamentary party over his government's military response to the terror strike. The electoral college for the vice president poll includes MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and its current strength is 782. If the Opposition also names a candidate, a distinct possibility, then the poll is scheduled to be held on September 9. Since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP lost its majority but comfortably crossed the halfway mark with allies, the sessional meeting of the party's MPs was expanded to include its allies. PM Modi had addressed the first such meeting on July 2. However, no meeting has been held in the last few sessions. Before the last national elections, he used to address the weekly meetings of BJP parliamentary party, now expanded to include party's allies such as the TDP, JD(U), and LJP (Ram Vilas). The meeting is attended by MPs of the ruling alliance, and PM Modi often covers a sweep of political and governance issues, and at times touches on the government's agenda in Parliament. He often offers to the MPs talking points to be raised in public, especially their constituencies.
