Mumbai, July 29 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday warned the council of ministers not to force him to take action against them if they embroil themselves in controversies again and again, denting the image of the government and giving ammunition to the opposition and critics to fire salvos.

The CM spoke with ministerial colleagues after the cabinet meeting and asked them not to speak to the press and media but to focus on their departmental work. He also told them that if their names come up in any controversial issue, clarification should be sought without sparking a new controversy.

The CM’s move to hold a thirty-minute interaction was in the wake of several ministers hogging the headlines for stoking controversies. The ministers, including agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat, school education minister Dadaji Bhuse and the minister of state for home, Yogesh Kadam, were under the CM’s radar in connection with various controversies.

A senior MahaYuti minister said, “The CM met all cabinet ministers, asking them not to get involved in any controversies. He asked all the ministers to issue clarification if their names come up in any row. His message was quite loud and clear that, despite this, if the ministers continue to spark controversies, he will be forced to take action against them.”

He added that the chief minister was quite categorical that the ministers should speak less but work more. Fadnavis told the ministers that the controversies are encroaching on the good works and achievements of the government.

The CM’s warning came after the government faced a major embarrassment after Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate’s video about playing rummy in the state council went viral. After the demand for his resignation by the opposition and farmers’ organisations, he sparked another row, saying the government is the beggar and not the farmers. He was snubbed by the chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Further, the issue of the tender of Sambhajinagar hotel bagged by social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat’s son despite a lack of necessary eligibility conditions was raised by the leader of the opposition in the state council, Ambadas Danve. Although the minister’s son has withdrawn from the tendering process after much noise, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a high-level probe into the matter. Further, Minister Shirsat’s video about a bag full of currency notes went viral giving the opposition an opportunity to demand his resignation.

School education minister Dadaji Bhuse is being cornered by the opposition over the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.

Similarly, the ruling establishment became uncomfortable after Shiv Sena legislator Anil Parab levelled serious allegations against Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam’s son and minister of state for home, Yogesh Kadam, over the illegal sand trading and dance bar raids. That prompted the chief minister to announce that if there is any truth in the material, he will take further action, while Yogesh Kadam outside the House said he would at an appropriate time prove that the allegations were false.

Minister of Soil and Water Conservation Sanjay Rathod sparked the controversy over the recruitment and postings in his department.

Kadam was yet another name in an already growing list of ministers and legislators from Shiv Sena after Sanjay Shirsat, Sanjay Rathod and Sanjay Gaikwad, who have landed in controversy in this monsoon session of the legislature.

Ironically, the ugly fight between the supporters of legislators and these controversies dominated the outcome of the monsoon session; instead, the healthy debate on key issues would have increased the stature of the legislators and further consolidated the image of the state legislature as a premium institution at the national level.

–IANS

sj/uk