Mumbai: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday demanded resignation of Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde following charges that she cleared purchases worth Rs 206 crore through 24 Government Resolutions (GR) on a single day instead of inviting tenders.
"24 GRs were passed in a single day without following the due procedure. We demand an independent enquiry into this scam and Pankaja Munde must resign as a minister immediately," Maharashtra AAP convenor Subhash Ware said.
Targetting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the issue, the AAP leader asked, "Is the Maharashtra CM so incompetent that he did not know the illegality involved or is he so weak that he couldn't act against his cabinet colleague for indulging in illegal action?"
"Fadnavis must come clean on this issue, especially as the state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has given clear instructions that any purchases above Rs three lakh has to done through e-tendering process," Ware said.
The alleged scam came to light on June 15, when the office of Pankaja Munde, state Women and Child Development Minister, received a letter from Ahmednagar Zilha Parishad president Manjushree Gund complaining about the quality of chikki (a popular snack) distributed to tribal students under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Gund said the chikki was contaminated with clay.
All the purchases had been cleared by Munde, daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, on a single day on February 13 through 24 Government Resolutions (GR).
As per norms, any government purchase above Rs 3 lakh has to be done through e-tendering.
