Maharashtra Minister’s Outburst Over Fund Cut Deepens Tensions In Maharashtra’s Mahayuti Govt: ‘Call It Injustice’
Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat accused the finance department of illegally diverting funds. He claimed that Rs.7,000 crore was diverted from his department earlier without his knowledge.
Maharashtra Social Justice Minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat has accused the Devendra Fadnavis-led finance department of high-handedness over what he has called the illegal diversion of funds. Shirsat claimed that Rs.7,000 was diverted from his department earlier by keeping him in the dark. He also called the diversion of funds illegal and called the action wrong.
The minister also said that the government should better shut down the social justice department over the periodic division of funds.
“They had diverted Rs 7,000 crore from my department earlier (during Budget) by keeping me in the dark. If the government doesn’t want the social justice department to function or they don’t want to spend money, then they should shut down this department. Call it an injustice or whatever. I don’t know the reason behind it (fund diversion),” Shirsat told reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar as quoted by news agency PTI.
The angry outburst can potentially flare up the smouldering tensions between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Ajit Pawar in the BJP-led Mahayuti government.
According to news agency PTI, the Maharashtra minister was reportedly angry over the reported diversion of Rs 413.30 crore from the social justice department’s allocation. Shirsat said that he would take this issue to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and added that there is a limit for tolerance.
“Why don’t they cut all funds once? Why do students need scholarships and hostels? What is the need to bring them (backward communities) into the mainstream? It will be alright if the social justice department doesn’t exist,” he said sarcastically.
Earlier, he had alleged that allocation to the Social Justice Department was slashed by Rs 7,000 crore in the budget.
The latest diversion of funds was flagged by the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve. He claimed that Rs 414.30 crore of Rs 3,960 crore allotted to the social justice department was diverted by the state.
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