Minister Manikrao Kokate Loses Portfolios Amidst Scam Conviction

• Manikrao Kokate's portfolios (Youth Welfare and Sports, Minority Development and Waqf) were removed following Governor Devvrat's approval of CM Devendra Fadnavis's recommendation.
• The removal comes after Kokate was sentenced to two years imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine in a Chief Minister's quota flat scam case.
• The case, ongoing for nearly three decades, involved obtaining a flat using false documents between 1995-1997, with the sentence upheld by the District Sessions Court.
• Kokate, an NCP MLA from Sinnar, had previously lost his Agriculture Ministry portfolio for playing Rummy in the Assembly.
• NCP leader Rohit Pawar criticized the delayed action, stating Kokate should have resigned earlier on moral grounds and called for Minister Shirsath's removal.

Why It Matters: Minister Manikrao Kokate stripped of portfolios after conviction in a decades-old flat scam.