Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Feb 24: The Maharashtra Minority Development Department has clarified that no new files were digitally signed and no minority status certificates were distributed on January 28, the day Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash.

The clarification follows a controversy over the alleged hasty grant of minority status to 75 educational institutions in the days immediately after Pawar’s demise. At the time of his death, Pawar was also in charge of the Minority Development Department.

Minority status grants significant regulatory benefits to educational institutions, including exemption from certain provisions of the Right to Education Act, such as the mandatory 25 per cent reservation for students from economically weaker sections. Institutions with minority status are also entitled to government grants and enjoy greater administrative autonomy in appointments and internal management.

Pawar and four others lost their lives in a plane crash in Baramati in Pune district on the morning of January 28.

In a detailed statement posted on X late Monday night, the department asserted that no digital signatures were affixed to any new files or certificates through the department on January 28, and no certificates were handed over on that day.

The department emphasised that the entire process of granting minority status is conducted online in a transparent manner and strictly in accordance with provisions laid down in the Government Resolution dated May 27, 2013. Applications, it said, are scrutinised at the district level and certificates are issued only after due verification.

Rejecting allegations of irregularities or hurried processing, the department described such claims as “completely baseless” and a distortion of facts.

The controversy gained momentum last week after deputy secretary Milind Padmanabh Shenoy was removed from his post. The action came after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stayed the approvals granted to the institutions.

According to officials, the first minority certificate was allegedly issued at 3.09 pm on January 28, with seven institutions receiving approvals that day. The total number of approvals reportedly rose to 75 within the next three days, raising questions about the speed of processing.

A high-level inquiry has since been ordered to examine how the files were cleared, whether due procedure was followed, and whether any prior suspension on issuing minority certificates had been formally lifted.

The chief minister has sought a comprehensive report on the sequence of events and warned of strict action if any irregularity or procedural lapse is found, a senior official said earlier.

Deputy Chief Minister and Minority Development Minister Sunetra Pawar, who was sworn in after her husband Ajit Pawar’s demise, has also directed officials to conduct a thorough probe and initiate stern action if any wrongdoing is established.