Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate Removed After Rummy Row, Gets Sports

Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate - knee-deep in controversy after being caught on camera playing an online card game in the assembly and his controversial comments about the farmers and the state government -- was moved from Agriculture to the Sports and Youth Welfare Ministry today.  Dattatraya Bharane has been appointed the new Agriculture Minister.

The decision was apparently taken after a meeting between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar. Mr Kokate belongs to Mr Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party.

Mr Kokate has denied all allegations, claiming he was not playing rummy and was only trying to close a pop-up ad on his mobile device. He even said he would resign if the allegations were proved.

But it was his comment on farmers that had apparently incensed the Chief Minister. 

Mr Kokate had made a controversial statement a few months ago while talking about the government's crop insurance for farmers. 

"Nowadays, even beggars do not take a single rupee. However, we gave crop insurance to farmers for one rupee. Some people misused this scheme," he had said. 

When it sparked massive outrage, had had offered a clarification, saying his comment was misinterpreted. 

"The government takes one rupee from the farmers. But it does not give a single rupee to the farmers. The government takes money. So who is the beggar? The government is the beggar, not the farmers... My statement was misinterpreted," he had said. 

Earlier, Mr Kokate had also alleged that the money disbursed to farmers through government schemes are used for events like weddings instead. 

"Farmers do not repay loans for five to 10 years while waiting for a waiver. The money received from agricultural schemes is not spent on the intended purposes but for engagement ceremonies and weddings. The farmers do not invest in a single rupee in farming," he had said.

On Tuesday, Mr Fadnavis had read the riot act to all his ministers, warning them not to embroil themselves in controversies repeatedly and force him to take action against them.

"If such things keep happening, the government will be defamed. This is the last chance, we will take whatever action we have to, but we will not tolerate any kind of controversial actions," a source had quoted him as saying.

Keeping farmers happy had been a crucial area for the Mahayuthi government. There have been discontent and protests over multiple issues -- including low Minimum Support Prices for crops, delayed compensation for crop damage, and debt -- especially in areas like Marathwada.

But Mr Kokate had been in hot water over other issues as well. 

In January, he had admitted to corruption in implementation of government schemes but said there is no reason to discontinue it. 

"There have been some irregularities in the scheme but two to four percent corruption in any scheme does not mean that it should be closed," he had said.

In February, Mr Kokate and his brother Sunil Kokate were awarded two years in prison by a Nashik court on charges of submitting fake documents to get flats under a government quota between 1995 and 1997.