Abdul Sattar accused of forcing officials to sell passes for Sillod festival

Even before the heat over a land allotment controversy in Washim could die down, agriculture minister Abdul Sattar is in the news again

Even before the heat over a land allotment controversy in Washim could die down, agriculture minister Abdul Sattar is in the news again.

Mumbai, India - October 26, 2019: Newly elected MLA Abdul Sattar of Shiv Sena arrives to meet Party chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree in Bandra in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, October 26, 2019. (Photo by Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times) (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

The opposition parties on Monday accused Sattar of forcing agriculture department officials to sell entry passes for the Sillod festival, which he organises in Aurangabad every year, to the people the government has hired to supply seeds and fertilisers.

‘’Sattar is misusing his power to collect funds for the festival in his constituency. There are complaints that agriculture officials across the state are forced to sell the passes to suppliers and contractors,” Ajit Pawar, leader of opposition in the assembly, said.

The festival will be held from January 1 to 10. Though the entry is free for the common man, the organisers have issued donation passes named platinum, gold and silver, with the amount ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000.

Leader of the opposition in the council, Ambadas Danve, tweeted the news reports about the allegations published in vernacular media. He also submitted a letter to the office of council chairman seeking permission to raise the issue in the house.

Danve, a legislator from the Shiv Sena camp headed by Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that the minister is also involved in the Aurangabad zilla parishad building contract scam. ‘He is accused of misusing his position to favour a particular contractor. The Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court is hearing the case.”

Significantly, both Danve and Sattar, who is an MLA from Sena’s Eknath Shinde-led faction, hail from Aurangabad district.

Nationalist Congress Party leader and former home minister Dilip Walse demanded Sattar’s resignation.

Sattar, who was not in the legislature when the allegations were levelled against him, later told the media that he would give a detailed reply on Tuesday.

When contacted, agriculture commissioner Sunil Chavan refused to comment on the charges but said the cultural affairs department is officially assisting the festival while the agriculture department is organising an exhibition to be held as part of it.