Kokate in trouble again over video of him playing mobile game in Assembly
Opposition parties slammed Kokate saying the state government was busy playing cards game while farmers were suffering due to crop loss and non-announcement of farm loan waiver.
However, Kokate claimed that he was merely checking the proceedings of the other House on You Tube and skipping the advertisement popped up during the video. Kokate is an MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar from Sinnar Assembly constituency.
Sharing the video, Nationalist Congres Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said, 'The ruling NCP cannot function without consulting the BJP. It seems that's the reason why when several agriculture issues are pending and on an average eight farmers commit suicide daily, the Agriculture minister has no work but to play Rummy on a mobile phone,' said.
Congress Legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, 'On one side, farmers are dying while the agriculture minister is busy playing Rummy. I appeal to farmers and people of this state to teach a befitting lesson to this fraud government.'
Claiming that the Opposition was trying to defame the government, Kokate said it was Solitaire and not Rummy. 'I was sitting in the legislative assembly and was checking the happenings of the Upper House on YouTube. An advertisement appeared and I skipped it. I was not playing anything,' said Kokate.
According to BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, 'There is no law under which action can be taken against the minister. At best, he will be warned… I had told Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to make a law against such activities, but he said the right is with the Central government.'
Claiming that members who were found watching videos on cellphones were made to 'sit at home' in Karnataka, NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said, 'Kokate is a minister but he has not replied to even one poser in the House. The minister is found playing Junglee Rummy, which has destroyed several families in Maharashtra. These ministers have no shame and have no respect for the state legislature. Now I want to see how Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will react. I am curious what he will do.'
Recalling the earlier instances when Kokate courted controversy, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar said, 'Earlier, he was found making irresponsible statements. The way he is behaving is an insult to democracy… There was a time when MLAs were held in high esteem but now, they are stooping low every day.'
Speaking at his home district Nasik while interacting with farmers affected by unseasonal rain and hail storms in April this year, Kokate had said, 'Farmers take loan and wait for five-ten years for loan waiver. The government will give money to farmers to invest in agriculture. This money is for water, irrigation and farm ponds. The government makes capital investments. What do you do with the money that you get from the farm loan waiver? Farmers say they want crop insurance money but spend it on weddings and engagements.'
In another instance, he said, 'Even a beggar does not take Rs 1, but here we are giving crop insurance for Rs 1. Even then there are people who try to misuse it. There are irregularities, like people from other states applying.'
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