CM Devendra Fadnavis stays minority tag certificates issued to 75 educational institutes hours after Ajit Pawar’s death, orders probe; deputy CM Sunetra Pawar directs strict action against those responsible

Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday ordered a thorough probe and stayed minority status certificates issued to at least 75 educational institutes across the state soon after the death of then-deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who headed the minority affairs department, in a plane crash on Jan 28. The action followed inquiry demand from opposition members."Orders have been issued to stay (the permissions) and investigate the matter," Fadnavis told TOI on Monday.Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, who now oversees the minority affairs ministry, convened an urgent meeting in Mumbai and directed senior officials to take strict action against those who granted these certificates.The issuance of minority status certificates was first flagged by members of the Indian Youth Congress in Pune, who questioned how the department cleared certificates within hours of Ajit Pawar's demise. Akshay Jain, general secretary of Indian Youth Congress's Maharashtra unit, said the process of issuing minority certificates had been halted by former minister Manikrao Kokate last Aug. After Kokate resigned in Dec 2025, Ajit Pawar took charge and maintained the status quo, he said.Jain said the department, however, abruptly resumed issuing certificates within hours of Ajit Pawar's death. "He (Ajit Pawar) passed away in the morning, and by afternoon, applications from educational institutes were approved. Between Jan 28 and Feb 3, around 75 institutes were granted the certificates," Jain told TOI."I welcome the CM's decision to stay these certificates and order an inquiry. This appears to be a nexus rather than the act of an individual. Those found responsible should be punished," he said.The issue was also raised by opposition leaders, including Congress state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal and NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar. "A mere stay on these certificates is not enough. A thorough investigation must be conducted. We have information that officials collected Rs 25 lakh for issuing each certificate," Rohit said in a statement.Sapkal, speaking to reporters, said govt must clarify on whose orders the approvals were granted. "Ajitdada had a strong command over the administration. If such a thing happened in his department soon after his demise, the responsibility rests with CM Fadnavis," he said.Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Ambadas Danve too condemned the incident and demanded a thorough investigation.Pyare Khan, chairperson of the state minority commission, told TOI that more than 3,300 educational institutes across Maharashtra held minority status and received various govt benefits. "I initiated action against some of these institutes as they operated only to take benefit under the minority tag, without passing on the benefits to the students. Several cases were also registered against the owners of some education institutes after an investigation by SIT revealed a large number of bogus teachers," he said, adding that even education department officials were arrested for aiding these institutes.Khan said minority-status schools were exempted from admitting students under the Right to Education (RTE) quota and could appoint teachers directly, even without TET qualification. He alleged that management of many such institutes misused this provision to appoint unqualified relatives, harming students' education.