Maharashtra minister's video playing online card game on phone in Assembly sparks row
In a post on X, Rohit Pawar quipped that Kokate appeared to have 'time to play rummy' since the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction could not take any decision without the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He added: 'Therefore, when scores of farm issues are pending and every day eight farmers are ending their lives in Maharashtra, the agriculture minister does not seem to have any work.'
Kokate, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, represents the Sinnar seat in the Nashik district.
The faction is part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in the state, which includes the BJP and the Shiv Sena group led by former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
' #जंगली_रमी_पे_आओ_ना_महाराज …!'
सत्तेतल्या राष्ट्रवादी गटाला भाजपला विचारल्याशिवाय काहीच करता येत नाही म्हणूनच शेतीचे असंख्य प्रश्न प्रलंबित असताना, राज्यात रोज ८ शेतकरी आत्महत्या करत असताना सुद्धा काही कामच नसल्याने कृषिमंत्र्यांवर रमी खेळण्याची वेळ येत असावी.
रस्ता भरकटलेल्या… pic.twitter.com/52jz7eTAtq
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) July 20, 2025
Commenting on the row, Kokate claimed that someone else had downloaded the game on his phone, ANI reported.
He claimed that he was merely checking the proceedings of the other House on YouTube and the game popped up while skipping the advertisement during the video.
He also claimed that it was 'a solitaire game, not rummy'.
Kokate added: 'The full video should come out. This is a conspiracy. The Opposition's tactics will never succeed.'
#WATCH | Nashik | On being accused by NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar on 'X' of playing rummy while in the Maharashtra Assembly session, Maharashtra Minister Manikrao Kokate, says, "Rohit Pawar has become addicted to playing rummy. It wasn't rummy, but solitaire on my phone. Some PA or… pic.twitter.com/yO5I4OB2Vj
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2025
Nevertheless, the video drew criticism from across party lines. Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), demanded Kokate's resignation.
'Seven hundred and fifty farmers have committed suicide in three months and the agriculture minister of Maharashtra is playing these games,' India Today quoted her as saying. 'He should resign for this dirty act. Otherwise, the chief minister should remove him.'
Kishori Pednekar from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) said that Kokate had been found 'on the wrong foot' earlier as well and described his behaviour as an 'insult to democracy', The Indian Express reported.
However, BJP leader and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that there was no legal provision under which action could be taken against Kokate, adding that 'at best, he will be warned '.
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