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Senior Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jitendra Awhad has written to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, urging the immediate disqualification of Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate following his conviction in a cheating case.
According to PTI, a Nashik court on Thursday sentenced Kokate to two years in prison in connection with a 1995 case, where he was found guilty of submitting fraudulent documents to obtain government-allotted flats under the Low-Income Group (LIG) category. Despite the conviction, Kokate has secured bail and stated his intention to challenge the ruling in a higher court.
In his letter to Speaker Narwekar, Awhad questioned why different standards were being applied in cases of convicted legislators, referring to the disqualifications of Congress leaders Sunil Kedar and Rahul Gandhi following their respective convictions. PTI reports that Kedar was disqualified from the Maharashtra Assembly, while Gandhi lost his Lok Sabha membership.
Awhad asserted that Kokate, being both a politician and a lawyer, was fully aware of the legal ramifications of his fraudulent actions but still chose to manipulate the system for personal gain. "When a court says that a message needs to be given, it is the legislature's responsibility to seek the resignation of a convicted minister," Awhad stated.
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The NCP (SP) leader further emphasised that Maharashtra's political integrity had been tarnished by Kokate's conviction, adding that no individual should be above the law. "There cannot be a separate yardstick for Kokate while others like Rahul Gandhi and Sunil Kedar were disqualified. The law must be applied uniformly," he stressed.
According to PTI, Awhad's demand for disqualification comes just days ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly's budget session, scheduled to commence on March 3. The opposition has been vocal in demanding Kokate's resignation, arguing that legislators convicted of fraud should be held accountable as per legal and ethical standards.
Meanwhile, sources indicate that Kokate is preparing to approach a higher court in an attempt to seek relief from his conviction. However, opposition leaders remain firm in their stance, insisting that the assembly must act decisively to uphold public trust in the state's political system.
(With inputs from PTI)
