Mumbai: Minister Dhananjay Munde has been accused of a Rs41 crore corruption scandal involving the procurement of cotton storage bags during the Mahayuti government’s tenure.

The alleged scam took place when Munde served as agriculture minister in the Eknath Shinde-led government, with claims that tenders were manipulated to favour certain companies, leading to a significant financial irregularity.

The tenders were issued through the Maharashtra State Handloom Corporation for the procurement of cotton storage bags. However, these tenders were allegedly issued under a different title, approving a price of Rs 1,250 per bag.

In contrast, the same bags were supplied to ICAR Nagpur at a rate of Rs 577 per bag. This means that the bags were purchased at an inflated price of Rs 673 per bag, leading to a total corruption amount of Rs 41.59 crore, according to the opposition. The Congress party has also presented documents to support these allegations.

Commenting on the issue, Congress leader Nana Patole said, “The BJP-led government under Eknath Shinde has broken multiple records of corruption. Crores of rupees have been misappropriated in the name of farmers. Even in the procurement of cotton storage bags, corruption has taken place. The Maharashtra State Handloom Corporation has spent ₹77.25 crore on this purchase.”

Patole further alleged that the contract was illegally awarded through tenders to four companies belonging to the same family. He claimed that Shri Krishna Pawar, the Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Handloom Corporation and Deputy Secretary of the Textile Department, deliberately provided insider information to a preferred supplier and orchestrated the entire fraudulent process.

Moreover, Patole pointed out that this procurement took place during the enforcement of the Lok Sabha election code of conduct, without obtaining approval from the Election Commission. Among the four selected companies, three reportedly belong to the Oswal family, while the fourth is allegedly linked to their chartered accountant.

Munde has faced several allegations for the past few days. There have been demands for his resignation in connection with the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Social activist Anjali Damania recently accused him of a Rs 275 crore scam in the Agriculture Department during his tenure as agriculture minister.

In response, Munde held a press conference denying the allegations and calling them false. However, within just two days, the Congress has now levelled another corruption allegation against him.

On Wednesday, Munde underwent eye surgery, and doctors have advised him to rest for the next four to five days. As a result, he will be unavailable until Monday, after which he is expected to resume work. It will be crucial to see how he responds to these allegations once he returns.