Mumbai, Maharashtra: A controversy is brewing after Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik allegedly secured a sponsorship deal with Rapido, months after threatening with an FIR against the company. Rapido is a bike taxi service that connects users with driving for two-wheeled transportation in urban areas.

The minister in July this year had booked a Rapido bike under an alias to check whether the service was still being offered despite the government making it illegal due to the lack of proper regulations for bike taxis. Notably, the biker rode the minister without knowing his identity, in front of the transport department officials who caught him red-handed.

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The Minister then directed the official to take action against the company while asking to spare the driver, noting he was merely a driver. The Maharashtra Cabinet had issued an electric-bike taxi policy in April this year mandating that only e-bikes which have complied with the government’s criteria could be used as bike taxis.

Sharing a newspaper ad for the Pro Govinda League, a user, Sudhir Suryawanshi, sarcastically wrote, “Maharashtra politics’ current infamous success trend. 1st, threaten, then blackmail and lastly, settle with a sweet deal. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik 1st, threatened action with an FIR against the #Rapidobyke ride service & later sealed a sweet deal with sponsorship of his Pro Govinda event.

 

Maharashtra politics current infamous success trend. 1st, threaten, then blackmail & lastly settle wid sweet deal. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik 1st, threatened action wid FIR against #Rapidobyke ride service & later sealed sweet deal wid sponsorship 4 his Pro Govinda event. pic.twitter.com/QHYSMFbEFI

— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) August 7, 2025

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The Pro-Govida League, officially recognised by the Maharashtra Government and conceptualized by Pratap Sarnaik, who is also the Chair of the League, aims to transform the sport from a centuries-old tradition into a professional, televised sport.

Recognized officially by the Maharashtra Government and conceptualized by Shri Pratap Sarnaik, Chair of the Pro Govinda League and Maharashtra’s Transport Minister, the league is revolutionizing the sport of dahi handi by transforming a centuries-old tradition into a professional, televised sporting event.

The ads being circulated in the newspapers show Pro Govinda League Season 3 sponsoring the two-wheeler taxi firm, Rapido.

During the examination, the minister said he caught the rider red-handed and proved that he was operating illegally. The minister later stated that this bike was making bookings for rides despite the state govt not having granted official permission to any bike taxi app.

In a separate incident on July 19, the Azad Maidan police registered a case against Uber and Rapido for running bike taxi services in the states without permission, after the officials booked dummy raids.