Opposition parties put pressure on BJP and demanded his resignation from state cabinet.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse finds himself in deep trouble after opposition parties demanded his resignation for receiving calls from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s house and irregularities in the purchase of land. Shiv Sena, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have upped the ante against BJP and have called for Khadse’s ouster from cabinet. The Khadse controversy is likely to affect the image of BJP which had adopted a zero tolerance policy against corruption. Even party president Amit Shah had termed the allegations against Khadse as serious matter as he had demanded a report from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Meanwhile the Shiv Sena sharpened its knives against BJP and demanded the resignation of Khadse. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “Eknath Khadse should step down and he must be ready to face an inquiry. He must resign from all posts until his name is cleared from all charges. If charges are proved against Khadse then action must be taken against him. The law must be equal for everyone irrespective of the position held by a person.”
Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan said, “If Khadse had received calls from Dawood Ibrahim’s number then it is a serious case concerning with national security. The Home Ministry must issue a clarification in this regard. Khadse must be ousted from the cabinet.”
Leader of opposition in state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said, “Khadse must resign from his post. The government must immediately sack him and order for a high level probe into this matter. Since there have been irregularities in the land purchase deal hence Khadse must immediately resign from all posts.”
Aam Aadmi Party had urged the governor to take action against Eknath Khadse. The party had held protests in Mumbai and other regions of Maharashtra to make citizens aware about the misdoings of Khadse.
Aam Aadmi Party leader, Preeti Sharma Menon said, “AAP has time and again appealed to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take action against Khadse and to order an independent inquiry.”
“From supporting illegal sand mining, to abetting a suicide of a police officer, to using the Jalgaon police as his private force, to using his PAs indulge in bribe taking, to being in touch with India’s most wanted terrorist, to acquiring government land for personal profit, to intimidating police to register false cases, to overall subverting the system – the charges against Eknath Khadse are grave and demand his immediate removal from office as well as a detailed, and independent inquiry,” she added.
Former AAP leader Anjali Damania on Thursday launched a hunger strike demanding an inquiry into allegations of corruption against Khadse and sought his ouster from the state cabinet.
She also demanded that the inquiry be completed within six months and the case be heard by a fast-track court.
“There are so many corruption allegations against Khadse and the government should take action regarding this. I met Anna and showed him all the documents against Khadse. Anna said it is a grave issue and assured me that he will call the chief minister and bring it to his notice. I also sought blessings from him before beginning the fast,” Damania said.
“Whenever we bring corruption cases to the notice, we are told to go to the court. I have already filed PILs in the court on various issues. But then what is the government doing? It should act on the corruption cases. The court will do its duty. But the government should take action against Khadse,” she said.
Khadse nevertheless has refused to resign and said that the party will take a decision in this regard. Fifteen corporators from Jalgaon have come forward to support him.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We have already submitted a report to Amit Shah about the allegations being made against Khadse. I have updated him about the status of this case and he will take a final decision in the regard.”
