Devendra Fadnavis meets Amit Shah to decide Eknath Khadse’s fate

The BJP high command has come under tremendous pressure to sack controversial Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis arrived in the national capital on Thursday and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah regarding the issue. That the party high command was planning action against Mr Khadse was clear after the BJP’s top bosses in New Delhi rebuffed Mr Khadse’s relentless attempts to meet them.

Surrounded by a string of controversies ranging from alleged telephone conversations with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to buying MIDC land at a throwaway price to his aide being arrested for allegedly demanding a '30-crore bribe in connection with a land deal and his son-in-law illegally possessing a limousine, the minister has reportedly been knocking on the doors of the party high command over the past few weeks.

On Thursday, the Shiv Sena, a BJP ally that shares power in the state, joined the Opposition Congress in demanding Mr Khadse’s resignation. In fact, for a change, the BJP state unit also toed the Sena and Opposition line by mounting pressure on the party high command to sack Mr Khadse. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the minister should resign. “It has been our position since the time of the late Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray that a minister should resign from his post until proved innocent. I request the CM to come out openly on the allegations made against Khadse,” Mr Raut said. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asserted that Mr Khadse was being protected by his party as he was still scot-free despite there being several cases and “concrete proof” against him.

“I have submitted the report. We have discussed the issue and the party will direct us to take appropriate action,” Mr Fadnavis said after meeting Mr Shah.

Speculation was rife that Mr Khadse had earlier defied the party high command when he was asked to step down.