Deputy secretary of minority development department transferred after row over issuing 75 minority certificates to educational institutes within hours after Ajit Pawar’s death

Pune: State govt on Tuesday transferred the deputy secretary of minority development department, a day after CM Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe and stayed minority status certificates issued to 75 education institutes within hours after Ajit Pawar's death in a place crash on Jan 28 morning.According to the transfer order issued late in the evening, deputy secretary of minority development department Milind Shenoy was transferred due to ‘administrative reasons'. Shenoy, who was authorised to issue minority status certificates to educational institutes, has not been given any new posting, officials privy to the matter said. "The certificates in questions carried Shenoy's digital signature," an official said.
In a related development, a senior official of the department said deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, who also held the minority affairs portfolio, directed the department on Monday to compile a comprehensive report on the controversial issuance of certificates. "All relevant files, including those with objections, are being scrutinised. A full account of the approval process will be submitted within a week. The department will get to the roots of the matter and investigate it in detail," the official said.The official said applications for minority status were processed online. "Only one physical hearing was held at the deputy secretary's office, the authority empowered to approve such applications," the official said.Opposition members, including Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP), have demanded a thorough probe into the issue. Calling the alleged approvals "inhuman", Sule questioned how such certificates could be issued during a period of mourning. "Where has humanity disappeared? How could such certificates be issued when the state was in mourning?" Sule asked while speaking to reporters in Delhi on Tuesday."I saw reports that the CM ordered an inquiry. It must, however, be time-bound, and the guilty must be punished," she said.The issue came to fore after Akshay Jain, general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress (Maharashtra), alleged that 75 institutes were granted minority status within hours of Ajit Pawar's death. The first certificate was allegedly granted at 3.09pm on the same day, even as the state observed mourning.Indian Youth Congress members alleged that the certificates were issued between Jan 28 and Feb 2, despite a freeze on approvals since Oct following instructions from former minister Manikrao Kokate. No certificates were issued till Jan 28, but approvals were allegedly cleared rapidly after Ajit Pawar's demise, with 75 institutes receiving status within three days, they alleged.Pyare Khan, chairperson of the state minority commission, said over 8,500 educational institutes functioned as minority institutions, but only about 3,300 officially held the status and received govt benefits. As per regulations, such institutions are exempt from RTE requirements to reserve 25% seats for students from economically weaker sections, certain teacher recruitment norms like TET, and are eligible for various govt grants. (With inputs from Anurag Bende)