MUMBAI: The BJP on Tuesday strongly defended school education minister Vinod Tawde , accused of giving administrative approval for the purchase of fire extinguishers worth Rs 191 crore without inviting e-tenders. Tawde, however, is now at the receiving end of allegations for the second time in as many weeks: first his educational qualifications were questioned, and now he has been accused of okaying the buying of fire extinguishers worth such a huge amount though his department had only Rs 19 crore in hand.It has further been alleged that the agency that was awarded the contract was not on the state’s rate contract list, though Tawde has maintained that it was on the central government list.The BJP’s defense on Tuesday highlighted the different approach it had taken in this case from the one it took during the Pankaja Munde affair: though chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had tweeted in defence of Pankaja, the party organized a press conference to back Tawde, with finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and PWD minister Chandrakant Patil joining the minister to put up a united front.While clarifying at the outset that he and Patil were addressing the meet because the CM was not in India and had asked them to brief the media, Mungantiwar said no rules had been flouted in the fire extinguishers case.Tawde said, “Contracts of Rs 191 crore have not been awarded, and not a single rupee has been paid yet. So there is no question of corruption. Work order for supply of fire extinguishers worth Rs 6 crore has been issued, but I have ordered a probe into this issue.”While reports had said that the finance department had objected to the purchase, Tawde said he himself had forwarded the file to the finance department for clearance.The state BJP has found itself in a spot over the past few weeks with questions being raised over ministers Babanrao Lonikar and Tawde’s degrees, Pankaja’s order for purchase of chikkis and a sting op showing Colaba MLA Raj Purohit criticizing PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.Mungantiwar, however, said it was all a conspiracy against the BJP. “It is a political conspiracy against the government as we all (BJP ministers) are working honestly and in a transparent manner,” he said. He also blamed the media for maligning the image of a good government in the race to get ‘exclusives’ and ‘breaking news’.”Mungantiwar was also on Tuesday appointed spokesperson of the state cabinet. “He (Mungantiwar) will brief the media after every cabinet meeting,” Patil said.Mungantiwar also defended Pankaja, saying, “She has approved purchase of various items without flouting any rules under the rate contract system. If the decision had not been taken at that point of time, the funds might have lapsed and that would have deprived schoolchildren of food and infrastructure.”Meanwhile, Congress’s Sachin Sawant has submitted documents to the ACB in connection with the ‘chikki scam’, whereas Mumbai Congerss unit chief Sanjay Nirupam has approached the Borivli police asking them to register an FIR against Tawde for submitting a ‘fake degree’.