Governor P C Alexander today accepted the resignation of Gholap.The proposal to drop him on charges of corruption at the juncture when Rane became CM was dropped following advice from a senior Shiv Sena leader that in the event of an abrupt dismissal from the Cabinet Gholap would join the rebel group led by Ganesh Naik.

Now with the general elections round the bend the Sena feared that if Gholap was allowed to continue it would give the Congress a major campaign weapon both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, a senior Sena minister said.

``At a point when the Rane and Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Mundehave launched campaign against corruption, it will be highly improper to continue ministers like Gholap in the Cabinet. Therefore, it was decided to seek Gholap's resignation with immediate effect. In the event he did not resign on his own, Thackeray empowered Rane to take a decision on the fate of Gholap,'' the Minister said.

But by and large, both Shiv Sena and BJP ministers feel that there was an unjustified delay in removing Gholap what with the Manohar Joshi Government failing to act on a written complaint by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare for two months.

The General Administration Department had proposed that either the charges of corruption against Gholap be probed by the Lok Ayukta or it be referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. However, no decision was taken on the recommendations.

When the Awami Mercantile Cooperative Bank scandal was unearthed by the Cooperation Department and the file put before the competent authorities, the case was ignored. In the Awami Bank scandal, theCooperation Department had specifically referred to the role of Gholap and his personal assistants in depositing huge sums of the two corporations directly under the control of Gholap in the bank which was under liquidation.

Even as the inquiry in the Awami Bank scandal was in progress, the alliance government was caught shocked when Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chhagan Bhujbal read out the statement of one of the accused in the Awami Bank Scandal. The statement recorded by the crime branch, specifically pointed out to the role of Gholap in the scandal. At that point the fact that Gholap was a backward class member saved him from Government action.

These incidents point to the fact that despite specific evidence against Gholap the Government protected him saying unless he is held guilty. Subsequently the Administration was hit in the face by two separate cases against Gholap filed by Social worker Milind Yavatkar and Janata Dal leader Sanjeev Chimbulkar.

As the case now stands,following directions of the court it was found that there was a transaction of Rs 40 lakh from the account of Gholap's wife, who is not employed. While the ACB report has been submitted to the sessions court, the High Court has also directed the Economic Offences Wing to submit a status report on the cases against Gholap.