Ready to quit if CM wants, says Prakash Mehta

Mumbai: Housing minister Prakash Mehta on Friday tossed the ball in chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s court, when he said that he would quit if the CM asked him. The opposition continued to bay for his blood on the third consecutive day. “If the CM asks, I am ready to sit out, until the inquiry gets concluded,” he said. Mr Mehta is under attack over the Tardeo slum rehabilation authority (SRA) development project.

The CM has been standing strong behind Mehta and did the same on Thursday as well.

On Friday, opposition members again demanded his resignation. “We will not allow both houses to function until Mr Mehta is sacked from the ministry,” declared both opposition leaders of the assembly and the council.

Following the continuous attacks against him, Mr Mehta for the first time on Friday talked about tendering his resignation.

After claiming that he has done no wrong, he said, “If the CM asks, I am ready to sit out from cabinet, until the inquiry gets concluded.”

He also commented on the opposition’s claim saying, “Not a single issue that the opposition is raising has any substance. It just shows the opposition’s mediocrity. I challenge them to prove any of the allegations,” he said.

However, the CM was not available for comments on Mr Mehta’s resignation. On Thursday, he had rejected the demand for his ministerial colleague’s resignation, saying, “Nobody got anything in the said project as a final decision was not implemented. There will be a probe in the matter. There is no need for his resignation before the probe,” he had said categorically.