Updated On: 22 July, 2025 05:01 PM IST | Nashik | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate denied playing rummy on his phone during the Assembly session, calling it a smear campaign. After video clips surfaced, he said the game popped up briefly and warned of legal action against those defaming him. Kokate asserted he would resign if the allegations were proven true.

Minister Manikrao Kokate. Pic./File pic
Amid the fresh row over Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate allegedly playing a game during the Maharashtra Assembly Session, the minister himself claimed on Tuesday that he never played rummy on his mobile phone as alleged by opposition parties. Minister Manikrao Kokate also rejected demands to step down, stressing that a trivial issue had been blown out of proportion.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader warned of legal action against politicians who "defamed" him by sharing his video.
A political storm erupted on Sunday when NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar posted a video clip of Kokate. In that video, Maharashtra`s Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate was seen playing rummy on his mobile phone during the monsoon session of the state legislature.