Accused of graft, Maharashtra minister finally quits

Mumbai, June 4 (IANS) Hit by accusations of graft, seniormost Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse on Saturday tendered his resignation from the state cabinet.

He met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and put in his papers from nearly a dozen major portfolios that he was handling, including the revenue and minorities departments.

The development happened a day after Fadnavis met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah and submitted a detailed report on the issues confronting Khadse in New Delhi. The Chief Minister later followed it up with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Khadse, the de facto No. 2 in the state cabinet, has been under fire during the past few weeks from ruling alliance partner Shiv Sena, as also the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and activists over various acts of omission and commission.

However, presenting a brave face, Khadse, strongly refuted all allegations against him and vowed to prove himself innocent.