After the death of Ajit Pawar, the status of minority educational institution was given in a hurry.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday ordered a stay on the status of minority educational institutions granted to 75 schools, which were reported to have been approved soon after the demise of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The officers provided this information.

Further, Deputy Chief Minister and Minority Development Minister Sunetra Pawar directed officials to conduct a detailed investigation into the alleged irregularities in the issuance of minority certificates and initiate strict action if any irregularities are found.

According to officials, between January 28 and February 2, 75 institutions were given minority status. The first certificate is said to have been issued at 3:09 pm on January 28, the same day Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash. Seven institutions received approval that day and the number increased to 75 over the next three days.

At that time Ajit Pawar was holding the charge of Minority Development Department. The department is now under Sunetra Pawar, who was recently sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. Sources in the government said the Chief Minister has directed that all approvals, grants and certificates issued during this period be put on hold pending a comprehensive review.

A high-level inquiry has been ordered to find out how these approvals were granted, whether due process was followed and whether any restrictions imposed earlier on issuing minority certificates were formally removed.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar said that banning minority status of educational institutions is not enough and demanded strict action against those responsible for it. State Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Khan described the incident as extremely worrying and demanded accountability, including a high-level investigation and a CID investigation.