Maha CM removes IAS officer following uproar
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the removal of IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar from the post of managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in the state assembly on Thursday.
The assembly was disrupted after the Congress-NCP-led Opposition demanded the resignation of Mopalwar and housing minister Prakash Mehta over graft allegations.
Fadnavis said an inquiry will be conducted in one month, and action will be taken if Mopalwar, who is accused of seeking bribes, is found guilty.
The Opposition had, on Wednesday, raised the issue after an audio tape that purportedly contained a conversation in which Mopalwar was heard asking for a bribe went viral. It also alleged that the person who uncovered the transcript was receiving threats to his life.
In the upper House, the Opposition demanded the resignation of Mehta, who is accused of allotting a Ghatkopar plot to a builder through the government agency that owns it, even though the agency had decided against it.
The ruling BJP, however, chose to fight back.
Its MLA Manisha Chaudhari tried to raise an issue about a human trafficking case in Latur, in which the accused is a Congress worker, and demanded action.
This led to an uproar from both sides, and saw the assembly proceedings getting adjourned on three occasions.