• Source:JND
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Shortly after 18 MLAs were sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, a controversy over the inclusion of at least three legislators emerged, triggering the first public friction between the old partners in a new body. 18 MLAs, nine each from the BJP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction, took oath as ministers in the Shinde Cabinet.

The row was started after state BJP vice president Chitra Wagh flagged the induction of Sanjay Rathod, who served as a minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led state government and resigned last year after he was linked to a woman's death in Pune. Rathod joined the Shinde camp when he rebelled against the party leadership[ in June this year.

Wagh, describing Rathod's induction as 'unfortunate', said that she will continue to fight against him. "Even if he is made a cabinet minister, I will continue my fight against him. I have faith in the judiciary. We will fight and win,” she said. However, Chief Minister Shinde said that the police had given a clean chit to Rathod, hence he was inducted into the state cabinet.

Sanjay Rathod, an MLA from Digras seat in Yavatmal, had to step down from his post after it was alleged that he was in a relationship with the victim woman that went bad, leading to her death by suicide.

An old video of another BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya started doing rounds on the internet following Rathod's induction, in which the BJP leader said that the suicide was in fact a murder by Rathod.

Meanwhile, another newly inducted minister and rebel Sena MLA Abdul Sattar was at the centre of a row on Monday when the names of his three daughters and a son appeared in the list of the 7,880 candidates who were disqualified and banned in connection with the alleged rigging of the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) 2019-20.

Sattar was previously in the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena before the 2019 Assembly elections. He also joined the Shinde camp in June following the rebellion. On the TET controversy, Sattar on Monday alleged it was a political conspiracy and questioned the timing of the list on the eve of the Maharashtra cabinet expansion.

Another newly inducted minister and BJP leader Vijaykumar Gavit was five years back found guilty of corruption and irregularities in the tribal development department led by him between 2004 and 2009. Gavit was in the NCP during 2004-09 and had served as a minister in the then Congress-NCP government. He later joined the BJP and won the Assembly elections in 2014 and 2019.

Nine BJP legislators including Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Chandrakant Patil, Vijaykumar Gavit, Girish Mahajan, Suresh Khade, Ravindra Chavan, Atul Save and Mangalprabhat Lodha were inducted in Shinde's Council of Ministers.

From the Shinde group, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Sandipan Bhumre, Uday Samant, Tanaji Sawant, Abdul Sattar, Deepak Kesarkar and Shambhuraj Desai were sworn in as ministers.