Videos of Maharashtra minister 'playing rummy' in House sparks row
NASHIK/CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Two videos purportedly showing Maharashtra agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate playing an online card game during an assembly session culminated Sunday in a full-blown political clash, including violence involving NCP and a Maratha outfit, as the stakes kept rising in what had started as a social media controversy.
The confrontation peaked at NCP state president Sunil Tatkare's presser in Latur, where members of Chhava Sanghatna threw playing cards at him while demanding Kokate's resignation. The symbolic protest quickly descended into violence when local NCP workers allegedly assaulted the protesters after Tatkare left the venue, with one activist being injured after being struck on the head with a chair.
The row began when opposition MLA Rohit Pawar of NCP (SP) posted the videos on X, claiming they showed Kokate too busy gaming to be bothered about House proceedings.
The allegation gained enough traction within hours to trigger protests.
In Nashik, Kokate dismissed the allegations as deliberate misrepresentation. The minister said he was attempting to monitor Lower House proceedings from the Upper House of Maharashtra's bicameral legislature when an online gaming advertisement appeared on his phone.
"I tried to skip it a couple of times, but couldn't. Finally, on my third attempt, it worked," Kokate explained, accusing Pawar of selectively editing the footage to suit his narrative.
"The MLA chose to show only the part that suited him instead of showing the complete video," Kokate said, dismissing the controversy as an attempt by the opposition to defame a BJP-led govt "doing good work".
At NCP's Latur presser, Chhava Sanghatna, led by Vijaykumar Ghadge, initially submitted a memorandum to Tatkare seeking Kokate's resignation before the card-throwing protest. After the NCP state chief left the venue, local party politicians allegedly confronted the Maratha activists in a nearby room, where the situation turned violent despite police's attempts to maintain order.
No arrests had been made till late Sunday, although the alleged retaliation drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Ghadge-Patil condemned what he claimed was an attack by "NCP goons". He said Chhava Sanghatna, which he described as an organisation of "farmers' sons", would retaliate.
NCP spokesperson Suraj Chavan defended the party workers' actions as a "natural reaction" to alleged attempts to humiliate party functionaries.
He acknowledged Chhava Sanghatna's right to democratic protest, but suggested the card-throwing protest was out of line.
Vidya Chavan of NCP (SP) termed the assault on the protesters "horrible", saying that questioning politicians' actions was a democratic right. She urged minister Kokate to "speak the truth and accept his mistake".
Throughout the controversy, Kokate maintained that his detractors like Rohit Pawar had been focusing on trivial matters - "my clothes, my cars and such things" - rather than the govt's agricultural policies. He said the legislator would have highlighted the govt's work if he had farmers' interests in mind.
The minister declared that the opposition's focus on such issues reflected its inability to find genuine governance concerns.
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