Adarsh probe to open Pandora's box, says Maharashtra CM

Under fire for his role in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has conveyed to the central leadership of the Congress party that a detailed probe is likely to “open a Pandora’s box” involving many other leaders and former ministers of the party.

During his stay in the capital during the past two days, the Maharashtra CM spoke to a few top Congress leaders to explain his position and also the possible consequences that may emerge from the party’s probe into the issue. But Chavan has not pleaded to save his chair and told the leadership that “if you want to remove me, you can do it immediately.”

The Congress leadership, however, will take some time to resolve the complex issue that involves not only a host of political leaders but also armed forces brass. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony — the two-member committee looking into the Adarsh scam — today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi. While Mukherjee said their meeting had nothing to do with the scam and was only regarding tomorrow’s AICC (All India Congress Committee) session, he also said they would need more time to go through the documents submitted by the Maharashtra CM.

Chavan said he needed to submit “many more documents” to show that the “files came to him in the due process” and they had been initiated much before he came to power. Chavan has been asked to furnish more documents to support his claims. He is expected to come back to the capital to attend the AICC session tomorrow and bring with him more documents.