Maharashtra agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate moved to sports after rummy controversy

Dattatraya Bharane has been appointed the new Agriculture Minister.

The decision was apparently taken after a meeting between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar.

Kokate belongs to Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party.

The minister has denied all allegations, claiming he was not playing rummy and was only trying to close a pop-up ad on his mobile device.

But it was his comment on farmers that had irked the Chief Minister.

Kokate had made a controversial statement a few months ago while talking about the government's crop insurance for farmers.

"Nowadays, even beggars do not take a single rupee. However, we gave crop insurance to farmers for one rupee. Some people misused this scheme," he had said.

When it sparked massive outrage, he had offered a clarification, saying his comment was misinterpreted.

"The government takes one rupee from the farmers. But it does not give a single rupee to the farmers. The government takes money. So who is the beggar? The government is the beggar, not the farmers... My statement was misinterpreted," he had said.

On Tuesday, Fadnavis had read the riot act to all his ministers, warning them not to embroil themselves in controversies repeatedly and force him to take action against them.