Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s tough stand on the Adarsh housing scam was his second powerful intervention in public against his own colleagues on the plank of probity. Earlier, he had opposed the ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification by calling it “complete nonsense”, leading the Union Cabinet to drop the legislation.
Rahul’s disapproval of the Maharashtra cabinet’s rescue act for senior Congress leaders came after a day-long huddle with Chavan and 10 other Congress CMs to discuss anti-graft measures. Chavan reacted to the public instruction by saying he would discuss it with his cabinet colleagues. Sources in the party said consultations will be a mere formality as by upping his ante in public, Rahul may have presented Chavan with a fait accompli.
The reversal will be facilitated by the fact that the coalition partner in Maharashtra,NCP,has seized upon the cabinet’s decision to taunt the Congress for organizing a safe passage for senior party leaders—former CM Ashok Chavan and ex-CM and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde—who were indicted by the probe panel.The third ex-CM to be indicted by the commission, Vilasrao Deshmukh,died last year.
CM Chavan will be happy to carry out the fiat which will keep him without key competitors for his job.
Rahul’s public frowning cuts short the respite that Ashok Chavan secured after the decision of the state cabinet. Governor K Sankaranarayanan also refused CBI sanction to prosecute him in the case.
With the Adarsh report proving to be a thorn in the Congress’s side and putting the young leader’s anti-corruption drive under a cloud, rescinding the controversial decision has become a political imperative. No sooner did the Chavan government reject the report than a controversy erupted, with BJP leader Narendra Modi invoking it to question Rahul’s offensive against graft.
Sources said the Adarsh issue came up for discussion at Rahul’s meeting with CMs and AICC general secretaries on how to position the party on the right side of the anti-graft debate on Friday. One of the party general secretaries reportedly questioned how the party’s new found toughness against graft would wash with people when the Maharashtra government had rejected the judicial panel’s report on irregularities in the Adarsh housing project. At this point, CM Chavan interjected to say he would not discuss the issue in the open house but would have a word separately with the Congress heir imminent.
What transpired between the two is not known but Rahul’s disagreement with the state cabinet’s decision on Adarsh appears to have been discussed between the duo. Chavan’s blank look on the dais when Rahul spoke indicated that he had not been taken by surprise.
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