Not mandatory to seek resignation of any minister: NCP leader Jayant Patil on Nawab Malik

Coming out in defence of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik who has been arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case NCPs state unit president Jayant Patil has said that it is not mandatory to seek the resignation of any minister until the crime is provenApparently targeting the opposition BJP Patil said there are efforts to put the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA ministers in troubleHe was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party event here on TuesdayWhen asked about BJP state unit president Chandrakant Patils statement that his party will not allow the upcoming budget session of the state legislature to function if Malik continues to remain a cabinet minister despite his arrest the NCP leader said Let the BJP put forth its stand on Malik during the session and an appropriate answer will be givenIf everyday some kind of action is being taken against ministers it is not mandatory to seek their resignation If the crime against them is not yet proved why would the person give his resignation he saidIn the case of former home minister Anil Deshmukh we took his resignation innocently when he was arrested but it was later understood that the allegations against him were frail There are efforts to put our ministers in trouble We have taken one resignation but now we think that there is no need of seeking the resignation of others Patil who is Water Resources Minister saidMalik state Minority Affairs Minister and ruling NCPs spokesperson was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED last week in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aidesDeshmukh who had resigned as a minister in April last year after allegations of corruption were levelled against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh The ED had arrested him November last yearThe BJP has been aggressively demanding Maliks resignation saying that he has no moral right to remain a ministerThe upcoming budget session of the Maharashtra legislature will be held from March 3 to 25 in MumbaiMeanwhile speaking about the Indian students stranded in wartorn Ukraine Patil said extra efforts need to be taken by the Union government to evacuate them and bring them back to the countryAround twoandahalf weeks ago an appeal was made by me and several others to evacuate the stranded students from Ukraine but it seems that we woke up a little late No issues I am hearing from the news channels that extra efforts are being taken by the government to bring back the students he saidThe minister added that he has been getting several videos of students currently stranded in Ukraine who have expressed disappointment for not being evacuatedTherefore the Centre should take extra efforts he saidWhen asked whether the efforts taken by the Union government are sufficient or not Patil said The way students are not feeling confident about their evacuation the way students facing difficulties it means we are lacking somewhereThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever