Pawar to review party stand if Maharashtra CM indicted

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said its chief, Sharad Pawar, would review its stand on the Adarsh Coop Housing Society scam if the chief minister was found in the wrong.

If all the CM did was to allot flats built on land belonging to the state government, this was not such a big thing, indicated Pawar, whose party is an equal coalition partner in the state government with the Congress party. A CM, said Pawar, was well within his authority to do so.

“However, if in this case the land belongs to the Indian Navy, then the matter is quite serious. If the chief minister is found guilty, then it will be a serious matter. NCP will take a different stand on this issue," he told Business Standard on telephone.

This was after he conducted review meetings with NCP ministers on the implementation of various development projects in his Lok Sabha constituency, Madha, in Solapur district.

Pawar’s statement comes after CM Ashok Chavan has offered to resign for his alleged involvement. The allegation is that he used his influence to allocate five apartments to his relatives in the housing society. A committee of Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister A K Antony is inquiring into the matter.

Two NCP seniors, Srinivas Patil, a former MP, and party legislator Jitendra Avhad, also have flats in the Adarsh society. The state party unit has sought their explanations.

Currently, NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal is deputy chief minister in the state government. NCP insiders said Pawar, who has already indicated that Bhujbal may be given a space in national politics, may remove the latter, if the CM goes, from the deputy CM’s post. The NCP may recommend Bhujbal’s name for the Union council of ministers, with Bhujbal to be replaced by Pawar’s nephew, Ajit Pawar.