Irrigation scam: Maharashtra Governor accepts Ajit Pawar's resignation

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Governor K Sankarnarayanan today accepted the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who quit following reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore irrigation scam.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met the Governor this morning and handed over Pawar's resignation.

"The Governor has accepted Ajit Pawar's resignation as recommended by the Chief Minister," a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

The crisis in the Congress-NCP coalition government in the state, triggered by the surprise resignation of Ajit Pawar, came to an end yesterday after party chief Sharad Pawar asked Chavan to accept it and directed 19 other ministers who had also stepped down to resume office.

Mounting a major fire-fight, the NCP boss had held a series of meetings with party leaders and legislators to bring the curtains down on the dramatic developments, which began on Tuesday with the sudden resignation of Pawar.

Divisions had surfaced in the party with national leaders like Union Minister Praful Patel favouring acceptance of Ajit Pawar's resignation and the legislators wanting him to take it back.

However, Pawar Sr, had been consistently maintaining that there was no threat to the 13-year Congress-NCP coalition in the state which was caught in the throes of a turmoil after Ajit Pawar stepped down.

The 53-year-old nephew of Sharad Pawar, had resigned following media reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore scam when he held the irrigation portfolio between 1999 and 2009.

After accepting the resignation of Ajit Pawar, who was holding the charge of Finance, Planning and Energy, the Governor agreed to the request of Chavan to allocate the portfolio of Finance and Planning (additional charge) to Jayant Patil, Minister for Rural Development.

The additional charge of the Department of Energy was given to Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education.

The decision was taken after Chavan called on the Governor. The meeting between the two lasted for an hour, the spokesperson said.