Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is frequently visiting Delhi to meet the top BJP leadership in an effort to retain his influence in the current Mahayuti government and to shield his ministers—Bharat Gogawale, Sanjay Shirsat, Sanjay Gaikwad, and Yogesh Kadam—who have sparked controversies, putting both Shinde and his party in a difficult position. Amid this political turbulence, yet another minister from Shinde's camp has come under opposition fire.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik is now facing allegations of pressuring the Rapido bike taxi app to sponsor the Pro Govinda League, a sporting event similar to the traditional Dahi Handi competition. However, MLA Pratap Sarnaik has denied the accusations, asserting that although Rapido was a sponsor of the Pro Govinda League, he did not hesitate to take strict action against the company on multiple occasions when violations were reported.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar took to social media platform 'X' to sharply criticise Sarnaik. In a sarcastic post, Wadettiwar wrote:
"With a stunt like this, the Transport Minister has shown the Maharashtra government how to raise funds for its events. First, book a ride using a private app, then catch the poor bike rider for violating the rules, declare the app-based bike taxi as illegal, create a PR campaign to show how alert and smart the Minister is, and finally collect sponsorship from the same company for an event."
He further alleged that this was a well-orchestrated image-building exercise. "In times when the state treasury is empty, this 'Pratap' (feat) by the Minister sets an example for other departments. If things continue like this, every minister may have to pull such stunts to fund their events,"* Wadettiwar quipped.
In response, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik issued a detailed clarification. He stated that politicising a cultural event like the Pro Govinda League is unfortunate.
"Any sport should be treated as just that — a sport. My son Purvesh Sarnaik has been organising the Pro Govinda League for the past three years to promote Maharashtra’s traditional Dahi Handi in a safer, mat-based format. Rapido was one of the 20-25 sponsors of this year’s event that began on May 26. That is a fact, and it cannot be denied," he said.
He clarified that despite Rapido’s sponsorship, he did not hesitate to take strict action against the company when its services were found to be in violation of rules.
"After questions were raised in the monsoon session about the legality of Rapido’s bike taxi operations, I ordered immediate action as the responsible minister. FIRs were filed under section B.N.S.S.173 against Rapido's top officials at the Amboli Police Station on July 17 and 18, based on my directives," Sarnaik explained.
He stressed that the action was not limited to just drivers but targeted the top-level management of the company. "This is probably the first time a transport minister has taken such strict action against a major app-based service provider. This should be appreciated, not criticised," he added.
Sarnaik concluded by urging critics not to link the Pro Govinda League with politics. "The fact that the traditional Dahi Handi sport is now played safely on mats through the Pro Govinda League is something Maharashtra should be proud of," he said.
