A letter written by Union minister Nitin Gadkari to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, seeking transfer of the state’s Medical Education Secretary Dr Ashwini Joshi who has reportedly disrupted smooth functioning of the medical education department, has raised questions of conflict of interest.

In the letter to the CM and Chief Secretary Manukumar Srivastava on March 9, Gadkari also criticised Joshi, an IAS officer, for allegedly stalling admission to nearly 1,100 seats linked to courses offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons-affiliated (CPS).