Mumbai: Even before the dust settles on the controversy over his engineering degree from an unrecognized institution, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde has got embroiled in another. This time around, it’s over the purchase of fire extinguishers worth ₹ 191 crore without floating tenders.

He is the second minister from the Devendra Fandanvis team who is in trouble over purchases without tenders. Last week, the Congress lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau against women and child development minister Pankaja Munde for sanctioning purchases worth ₹ 206 crore without calling for tenders.

The Indian Express on Tuesday reported that Tawde’s decision to order fire extinguishers from a Thane-based company had been quashed after the finance ministry raised an objection.

Tawde claimed no irregularity had been committed because contractors had not been paid. “Not a single rupee has been paid to contractors. We stopped the order immediately after the finance ministry raised objections," Tawde told reporters.

On 22 June, after a Marathi news channel claimed Tawde’s engineering degree was fake, he said his degree wasn’t recognized by the government, but was not fake.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) closed ranks in defence of Tawde, and finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and public works and cooperation minister Chandrakant Patil addressed the press conference in support of Tawde. Mungantiwar said, “The Opposition is making a mountain out of a molehill".

Although the BJP ministers came to the defence of Tawde, faultlines within the ruling alliance in Maharashtra were visible, yet again. The Shiv Sena, a junior partner in the Fadnavis government, demanded the resignation of both Tawde and Munde.

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