Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar
PUNE: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis Monday stayed certificates granting minority status to at least 75 educational institutes across the state soon after the death of former deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who also headed the minority affairs department, in a plane crash on Jan 28. The action followed inquiry demand from opposition members. “Orders have been issued to stay (the permissions) and investigate the matter,” Fadnavis told TOI on Monday. Deputy CM and late Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, who now oversees the minority affairs ministry, convened an urgent meeting in Mumbai and directed senior officials to take strict action against those who issued these certificates. The issue was flagged by members of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Pune, who questioned how the department cleared certificates within hours of Ajit Pawar’s demise. Akshay Jain, general secretary of IYC’s state unit, said the process of issuing minority certificates had been halted by former minister Manikrao Kokate last Aug. After Kokate resigned in Dec 2025, Ajit Pawar took charge and maintained the status quo, he said. Jain said the department, however, abruptly resumed issuing certificates within hours of Ajit Pawar’s death. “He (Ajit) passed away in the morning, and by afternoon, applications from educational institutes were approved. Between Jan 28 and Feb 3, around 75 institutes were granted the minority tag,” Jain told TOI. “This appears to be a nexus rather than the act of an individual. Those found responsible should be punished,” he said, welcoming the CM’s decision to stay these certificates and order an inquiry. The issue was also raised by opposition members, including Congress state chief Harshwardhan Sapkal and NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar. “A mere stay on certificates is not enough. A thorough investigation must be conducted. We have information that officials collected Rs 25 lakh for issuing each certificate,” Rohit said. Sapkal said govt must clarify on whose orders the approvals were granted. “Ajit dada had a strong command over the administration. If such a thing happened in his department soon after his demise, the responsibility rests with CM Fadnavis,” he said. Sena UBT’s Ambadas Danve, too, hit out at govt over the issue and demanded a thorough probe. Pyare Khan, chairperson of state minority commission, told TOI that more than 3,300 educational institutes across Maharashtra held minority status and received various govt benefits. “I initiated action against some of these institutes as they operated only to corner concessions under the minority tag, without passing on the benefits to the students. Several cases were also registered against the owners of some education institutes after an investigation by the SIT revealed a large number of bogus teachers,” he said, adding that even education department officials were arrested for aiding these institutes. Khan said minority-status schools were exempted from admitting students under the Right to Education quota and could appoint teachers directly, even without TET qualification. He alleged that management of many such institutes misused this provision to appoint unqualified relatives, harming students’ education.
