Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad and anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania on Wednesday demanded the immediate removal of Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate from the state cabinet after a sessions court upheld his conviction in a cheating and forgery case.

Gaikwad accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of protecting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader despite the court confirming his two-year jail sentence in a case dating back to 1995.