Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI) The Maharashtra legislature secretariat is conducting an internal probe into a viral video purportedly showing Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate playing ‘rummy’ on his mobile phone in the legislative council, sources said on Thursday.
They said the clip, shared by NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Pawar and Jitendra Awhad on their social media handles, was recorded around 1.40 pm on July 10 when the proceedings of the Upper House were underway.
The video shows PWD Minister Shivendrasinh Bhosale and BJP MLC Sadabhau Khot from the ruling Mahayuti alliance sitting around Kokate. None of them and the others from the treasury benches near Kokate are seen doing any “activity” with their mobile phones, the sources said.
“Looks like the video has been shot from the galleries above. What is the motive of such a clip surfacing in the public domain after ten days,” they asked.
The three-week monsoon session of the state legislature ended on July 18.
The video purportedly showing Kokate playing ‘rummy’ on his mobile in the Upper House was first posted on X by NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar and later by his party colleague Jitendra Awhad, triggering a political firestorm.
The sources said the internal probe will also attempt to ascertain who filmed the minister during the proceedings in the legislative council.
Kokate, who represents the Sinnar constituency in Nashik district, has denied the allegations and has threatened to sue the opposition MLAs for defamation. He has claimed that he does not even know how to play the online rummy game.
The minister has also said that he will write to the presiding officers of the legislature to conduct a probe, asserting that he would submit his resignation during the Winter Session in Nagpur if found guilty.
The video had prompted Chhava Sanghatna activists to demand Kokate’s resignation. They had also confronted NCP MP Sunil Tatkare and thrown a pack of cards in front of him during a press conference in Latur. Angered by this, NCP workers had assaulted Chhava Sanghatna activists. PTI PS MR NR
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