Another Maharashtra minister faces scam allegations

Even as the controversy over Pankaja Munde's alleged Rs 206 crore scam refuses to die down, another Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde is in the line of fire for alleged irregularities in government contracts worth Rs 191 crore.

Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde has, however, rubbished allegations of irregularities, asserting that "no money exchanged hands, so there's no possibility of a scam".

Speaking to CNN-IBN, the Maharashtra Education Minister claimed that he had asked his department to not spend "a single penny" without a go-ahead from the Finance department.

Explaining his stand on the issue, Tawde pointed that the deal in question was moved with the intention to ensure the implementation of a Supreme Court directive, but could not get the approval of the Finance department.

"We stopped any expenditure when the Finance department did not give a go ahead," said Tawde.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister, Maharashtra Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam pointed that Tawde had been accused of not following due procedure.

Contesting Tawde's claims, Nirupam said that either the minister was not aware of the procedure in the Maharashtra government or he simply failed to comply with the procedures.

The Maharashtra government, which is already battling a Rs 206 crore scam allegation on Pankaja Munde, rallied behind Tawde. The government claimed that the allegation was part of a conspiracy to defame the government.

Talking to mediapersons, Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that though the finance department had received a file on the issue, it had returned the same to the Education Ministry with objection on tender.

Mungantiwar said that the issue needs to be looked at "positively", saying that the move by the education and finance departments shows that the Maharashtra government functions in a transparent manner.

The file in question is reportedly about the supply of fire extinguishers to over 62,000 schools in the state, and the finance department has sought details about the same from the Maharashtra Education Ministry.