Nagpur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has reportedly approved extension to BJP leader Omprakash ‘Munna’ Yadav as chairman of the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, a post that has the rank of a minister of state (MoS). Yadav, who is facing attempt to murder charges, was absconding for six months and has shown no cooperation with the police department.
TOI, on Saturday, reported how Yadav’s tenure had ended on May 27 and a proposal seeking extension was pending with the CM. Yadav had resumed charge as board’s chairman in May after getting ad-interim pre-arrest bail from Supreme Court on April 23. Till he got bail, Yadav’s charge was given to labour and employment minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar.
A close aide of Fadnavis, Yadav and his family members, wife Lakshmi and sons — Karan and Arjun — were booked for attacking and seriously injuring Mangal Yadav, his sister Manju, brothers Papa and Gabbar Yadav, and others on October 21 last year following a dispute over bursting of firecrackers. He could not get anticipatory bail from district and high court. He got the ad-interim pre-arrest bail from the Apex court on April 23. Between October 21 and April 23, Yadav was absconding and the police had failed to arrest him.
Sources from the Chief Minister’s office confirmed about re-appointment of Yadav on the post. The tenure of the extension could not be known. The present BJP-Sena government’s tenure will end in 2019.
Sources from the CMO said Yadav was given extension citing good performance in the capacity of the board’s chairman. Under his tenure, the board had taken up a project to construct 2.5 lakh tenements for construction workers at 20% of the cost of construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna (PMAY) and other schemes for welfare and development of building.
Yadav had assured to give his version but later did not respond to TOI’s calls and messages. Fadnavis also did not respond to TOI’s message.
Yadav is a two-time corporator in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). His wife Lakshmi too is a two-time corporator.
A criminal writ petition is pending against Yadav in the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court. Navita Avadesh Yadav had filed the petition on November 29, 2017 demanding CBI inquiry into the October 21 case. She had also raised an objection on Yadav’s appointment as board’s chairman citing 12 cases against him.