
Maharashtra govt is ‘beggar': Minister Manikrao Kokate adds fuel to fire after ‘rummy' video row; Fadnavis reacts
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate had allegedly compared farmers to beggars, inviting severe criticism. 'Even a beggar does not take Re 1 in alms, but here we are giving crop insurance for Re 1. Even then, some people try to misuse it,' he had said.
When asked about the remark, Manikrao Kokate compared the Maharashtrian government to 'beggar'. He said, 'The government doesn't give Re 1 to farmers, it takes Re 1 from them. The government is a beggar,' PTI quoted him as saying.
He also said that 5 lakh to 5.3 lakh bogus applications for the Re 1 crop insurance scheme had been received and he rejected them and implemented several corrective steps. The Re 1 crop insurance scheme, launched two years ago, was scrapped a few months back and replaced with the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme.
He also reacted to the alleged video of him playing rummy and warned of legal action against politicians who "defamed" him by sharing his video.
'I don't know how to play online rummy. One needs an OTP, and a bank account needs to be linked to play the game. One can check if my mobile phone is linked to any such game. I was trying to skip a game which popped up on my screen for 10 to 15 seconds,' he said.
When asked about the 'beggar' statement by the Maharashtra government, Devendra Fadnavis said, 'If he has made such a comment, it is inappropriate for ministers to speak in this manner. We have taken corrective measures in the crop insurance scheme as we saw insurance companies benefitting and not farmers.'
'We have taken steps to make an investment of ₹ 5,000 crore every year in the agriculture sector. Maharashtra's economy is good despite challenges,' the chief minister told reporters in Gadchiroli.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in a post on X said calling the state "beggar" was insensitive and 'insult' to all the work the state government has done over the years. 'It is an insult to the hard work of all the chief ministers of the state so far and the people of the state. We will never tolerate this insult,' she said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
ECI seeks to delink Bengal CEO office from state control ahead of polls
KOLKATA: With the Assembly polls in West Bengal less than a year away, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken measures to ensure the "complete independence" of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office and is also preparing to shift the office to a Central Government premises in Kolkata. A special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list will also commence soon in the state, according to ECI sources. Currently, the CEO office in West Bengal functions under the "administrative and financial control" of the state's Home and Hill Affairs Department. In a firm directive to the West Bengal Government, the ECI has urged that full financial and administrative independence be granted to the CEO office. The communication, recently sent to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant by ECI Under Secretary Ashutosh M, stresses the importance of delinking the CEO's functions from the state's Home and Hill Affairs Department, especially with the Assembly elections scheduled for next year. Plans are also underway to shift the CEO office from its current location at the Balmer Lawrie building on Strand Road, Dalhousie, to a Central Government building in Kolkata before Durga Puja, which falls between September and October.


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Maharashtra cabinet reshuffle buzz: Final decision rests with CM Fadnavis, says Bawankule
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior BJP leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in New Delhi on Friday.(X/@HMOIndia) The speculation about the potential swapping of portfolios of some controversial ministers or sacking them gained momentum in light of Fadnavis' recent meeting with Union ministers in Delhi. Queried about the reshuffle buzz, Bawankule said, "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP (SP) chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde can decide for their parties, which is their right. "Respective parties will make their decisions. However, the final decision rests with Fadnavis as he is the chief minister of the state," he added. He demanded an apology from the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, after the latter admitted that he could not protect the interests of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the past as much as he should have done. Gandhi had also acknowledged his "mistake" of not getting a caste census conducted earlier. "Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation and the OBC community, as it is obvious that the Congress used OBCs as a vote bank. The Congress had done injustice to OBCs," Bawankule said. He said the caste enumeration decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pave the way for a huge revolution in the country. The former Maharashtra BJP president took a dig at Saamana amid reports that senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar will replace Rahul Narwekar as the speaker of the Maharashtra assembly. "In order to boost the declining readership of (Sena-UBT mouthpiece) 'Saamana' and give more publicity to its owner (Uddhav Thackeray), they are writing misleading news reports," he said. Meanwhile, Bawankule said if some ineligible men had fraudulently availed of the financial benefits under the Mukhyamantri Mazi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the money should be recovered from them and cases registered. He was answering a query on around 14,000 men availing of the monthly financial aid under the scheme reserved exclusively for women from the low-income groups who meet the eligibility criteria. "The chief minister and the government have already clarified. The government will not recover money received by some sisters fraudulently. But if men are involved, I feel the money should be recovered from them and cases registered," the minister added. Political circles are abuzz with speculation concerning the future of some ministers, mainly of the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde, amid controversies. Amid a growing chorus for the resignation of NCP leader and state agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has assured an appropriate decision after discussing with his colleague. Kokate is in the eye of a political storm after videos purportedly showing him playing a card game on his mobile phone in the state legislature went viral. The minister had denied allegations against him and threatened to sue the leaders responsible for "defaming" him. Kokate had triggered controversies in the past with his statements regarding the farming community.


The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
17 MPs honoured with Sansad Ratna Awards for Parliamentary performance
New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Seventeen Members of Parliament — including Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar), Ravi Kishan (Bharatiya Janata Party), Nishikant Dubey (BJP) and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) — have been selected for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2025 for their exemplary performance in the Lok Sabha. The honours also include four Special Jury Awards, recognising their consistent contributions to parliamentary democracy across three successive terms.