NCP decides to keep Nawab Malik minister, but take away his portfolios
NCP decided to take away Malik"s portfolios but will not tender his resignation; he will continue to be the Minister.
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Mumbai, March 18: Nearly 23 days after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik’s party, NCP, on Thursday, decided to take away his portfolios. However, the party has said that Malik will not tender his resignation and will continue to be the Minister.
Malik held the Minority Affairs and the Skill Development portfolios in the Shiv Sena-led MVA alliance govt, of which the NCP is a part.
Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Jayant Patil commented on the issue saying, “Malik will continue to be a Minister. We’re not taking his resignation. Since he has been arrested, he hasn’t been able to carry out his duties so his responsibilities will be temporarily given to different people”. “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will be informed about the decision and he will take the final call in this regard”, he added.
This is a day after NCP chief Sharad Pawar held a meeting with the party’s senior leaders at his Mumbai residence. The meeting was held to discuss the case of Nawab Malik and his Ministerial position in the state government.
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Nawab Malik at present serves as minority affairs minister and skill development minister in the MVA-led Maharashtra govy. According to reports, NCP has now decided to make Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde and Minister of State for Urban Development Prajakt Tanpure the guardian ministers of the two districts.
On February 23, Malik was arrested by ED for his alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Since then, BJP in the state has been demanding his resignation. BJP’s Chandrakant Patil & Devendra Fadnavis had demanded Malik’s resignation on the day the Maharahstra’s Budget Session began and had said that the party would not allow the legislature to function until Malik resigned.