Why No Ministers Want To Occupy Ramtek Bungalow And Room 602 In Mantralaya

Leaders and thinkers from Maharashtra describe the state as the cradle of progressivism and rationalism. But the current discomfiture attached to a palatial bungalow in south Mumbai and a cabin in Mantralaya are proving amusing for the pall of superstition they have spread. At the centre of the controversy is the historic ‘Ramtek’ bungalow in Mumbai’s posh Malabar Hill area. Ramtek has been tagged as ‘unlucky’ for its occupants. And history is quoted to bolster this claim. The first such victim was then deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde, who lived in Ramtek between 1995 and 1999, never to return. Soon after becoming a Union minister in 2014, he died in a car accident in Delhi. If a bungalow is perceived to be unlucky, a mere cabin, too, is seen with apprehension. Though just a cabin in Mantralaya, Room 602 is viewed as jinxed. Presently used by a bunch of bureaucrats, ministers are reluctant to move into it. In this list, Chhagan Bhujbal is at the top since Room 602 was allocated to him in 1999. He was at the time the deputy CM and home minister. Residing in Ramtek, he became the focus of the multi-crore fake stamp paper Telgi Scam. After him, Ajit Pawar started using the cabin but he also had to step down after accusations regarding the irrigation scam started against him. He later returned as deputy CM but kept away from Room 602. The others to be hit are then BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who had to resign after being implicated in a land scam. The next occupant, BJP’s Pandurang Fundkar, died suddenly in 2018. The most recent occupant was then BJP minister Anil Bonde, who lost the assembly election in 2019. Who will occupy Ramtek and Room 602 is watched with considerable interest.