By Shubhangi Chauhan
The Nashik district court found Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate guilty of breaking the laws by obtaining government flats with false claims through the chief minister’s discretionary quota and thus sentenced him to spend two years in prison. Judgment found each of Kokate with two years imprisonment despite sharing the same conviction with his brother Vijay Kokate. In 1995, the Kokate brothers applied for government housing through documents which contained false information pretending to be part of a low-income group.
Former minister Tukaram Dighole filed a complaint with the court against Kokate brothers to show they belonged to the economically weaker section so they could acquire two Nirman View Apartment flats in Nashik. Each of them received a fine order of ₹50,000 from the court.
The convicted Kokate obtained bail and he stated his intention to appeal to a superior court system. An unconfirmed status exists about his ministerial role because the 1951 Representation of the People Act dictates that public officials serving time exceeding two years face disqualification except when the conviction gets a stay. According to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar any decision about action will arrive after he receives direction from the Election Commission.
The legal case has intensified difficulties for both Mahayuti and NCP under Ajit Pawar’s leadership. Dhananjay Munde serves as a NCP minister while being involved in a scandal about the Beed sarpanch’s death. The opposition parties want Kokate to leave office right now based on moral standards.
Kokate insisted before multiple media channels that the case was made by his political opponents to gain advantage over him in Dighole. Kokate received opposition criticism due to his comments regarding the ₹1 crop insurance scheme even though the program suffered from suspected false activity claims.
The upcoming March state assembly budget session will determine the political fate of Kokate since his chance at staying in power rests on his successful appeal for relief from the higher court.