Disgruntled MLA and ex-revenue minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Khadse courted causes of concern in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ranks by serving an ultimatum during a public meet at Raver town in his home district, Jalgaon, on Thursday.
Khadse was incidentally speaking at a programme hosted to celebrate former Congress MP Rajiv Patil’s 61th birthday. Maharashtra state Congress head and former chief minister Ashok Chavan gave him an open invitation to join his party in the same event.
Khadse responded by claiming that he does not wish to quit the BJP but admitted that things could go south if senior party leaders “forced him to quit.”
Khadse has been embroiled over serious allegations of corruption concerning plots of land belonging to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Pune. The state’s Anti Corruption Bureau is currently probing the case.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked Khadse to quit from the cabinet when the matter first arose. To make things worse, the Fadnavis government had even refused to withdraw the FIR lodged against Khadse following directions to that effect from Bombay High Court.