Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigns
He faced allegations of purchasing a government plot illegally and also having received calls from gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigned on Saturday, ANI reported. His resignation comes after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah and submitted a report on the allegations surrounding Khadse recently. The former minister was mired in allegations of purchasing a government plot illegally, and also of having received calls from gangster Dawood Ibrahim, which he vehemently denied on Saturday. He added that Fadnavis will be investigating the scams.
Khadse had met with Fadnavis on Saturday before announcing his resignation, The Indian Express reported. Party leadership reportedly felt there was "impropriety" in the land scam, where Khadse had purchased three acres of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation land in Bhosari at a price of Rs 3.75 crore. The market value of the land was allegedly Rs 40 crore.
The Congress has demanded Khadse's arrest, India Today said. Reports had added that Fadnavis had sought Khadse's resignation earlier in the week, before his meeting with Shah. Khadse, however, had refuted all the allegations.