Opposition MLAs staged a protest outside the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday demanding the resignation of three Cabinet ministers who have been accused of corruption. The Opposition accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s Housing Minister Prakash Mehta (pictured above), Minister of Cooperatives Subhash Deshmukh and Industries Minister Subhash Desai of misusing their official powers.
In July, Mehta was accused of favouring builders in two different slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai’s Tardeo and Ghatkopar. The building rights were allegedly transferred to SD Corporation without Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ approval. Mehta’s wife and son were also accused of benefitting from a redevelopment project.
Deshmukh’s Solapur-based Lokmangal Group was accused of financial fraud, reported Hindustan Times. It was alleged that his company had used farmers’ documents without their consent to obtain loans from banks.
Desai, a Shiv Sena leader, had allegedly de-notified almost 400 hectares of land in Nashik acquired from farmers between 2007 and 2008 to benefit a builder. Shiv Sena had denied the allegations against Desai and called them baseless.
The Opposition has been demanding the resignation of the three ministers. The Congress in the state had targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll promises of a corruption-free government.
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